


Perfectly Wrong

by soupgirl88



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Completed, F/F, F/M, High School AU, Jude is oblivious, Private School, cardan and Jude in high school, cardan is a bully, first fanfic, haters to lovers, jurdan - Freeform, mild smut later, not intended but definitely some fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:15:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 78,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23241592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupgirl88/pseuds/soupgirl88
Summary: Jude is starting her senior year and wants nothing more than to stay away from Cardan Greebriar. To her dismay, Cardan has a much different plan.Will his charm and good looks win her over this school year? Or will she continue to hate him for the rest of their lives?
Relationships: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar, Taryn Duarte/Locke, Taryn Duarte/The Ghost, Vivienne Duarte/Heather
Comments: 278
Kudos: 552





	1. Chapter 1

His black eyes stare into my soul. He smirks at my discomfort as I inch away from him, but I am stopped by someone behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see Valerian’s cruel smile. I take a step forward to avoid touching the brute, but now I am only inches away from him. 

“How are you today, Jude?” he asks in his playful, yet bored tone. 

I look away from his burning gaze and see Nicasia and Locke walking out onto the school yard over to us. “I asked you a question,” Cardan growls. 

“Do we really have to do this, Cardan?” I ask returning my gaze to him. “It’s only the first day of the new school year. We’re seniors now, not children. Can’t you just avoid me?” 

He lets out a little laugh and looks me up and down. I’m suddenly very conscious of the outfit Viv picked out for me to wear today: a black denim skirt, a light blue blouse, a black leather jacket, and a pair of white converse. Since today is the first day of school, we don’t have to wear our school uniforms; it’s a real chance to get a vibe for your classmate’s styles outside of parties. He’s still watching me, so I cross my arms over my body and try to look like I’m not uncomfortable. 

“You’re right, Jude. We are seniors.” 

I’m taken back, he’s never admitted that I’m right before.

“However-”

I knew there was a catch. 

“Because we’re seniors, I only have one more year left with you, my sweet Jude,” he grabs a strand of my hair and begins to twist it around his fingers. “So, I’m planning on making this year count.” 

He pulls my hair, and I grimace at the pain. Cardan turns around and struts into school with his minions following him. Fuck. 

Taryn begins to walk over to me while I take a deep breath, trying to forget all about Cardan Greenbriar. It’s almost impossible when you see his name everywhere; it’s just one of the perks of attending Greenbriar Academy, along with the constant unchecked harassment. 

My twin reaches me with a look of concern on her face. “What did he want?” she motions to the doors Cardan just walked through. 

“Nothing. He was just being his usual kind self.”

I link her arm in mine and begin to walk us to Elfame Hall, a large brick building where our classes were held. “I have English first,” she tells me. 

Oh yeah. I remember now. Taryn and I have an opposite class schedule. Not a single one together, I can’t help but theorize a certain headmaster’s son had something to do with this. “Okay,” I sigh. “I’ll see you at lunch.” 

I start my trek down the hall to my math class. Because of the great Cardan Greebriar, I was running late and Mr. Scott doesn’t tolerate tardiness. I curse everyone and everything around me and continue my quick pace to the math hallway on the third floor. 

Reaching Mr. Scott’s classroom just before the bell rang, I took the only empty seat in the middle left. Cardan smirks from across the classroom at my disheveledness, but I only glare back. I finally get a look at what he’s wearing and it honestly takes my breath from me. He has on a pair of black skinny jeans and matching combat boots. His shirt is also black and also very tight. A long black jacket with red lining is over his shoulders like a cape. His finger nails are painted black and he has gold highlight along his sharp cheekbone. Like normal, his dark curly hair is mussed to perfection. Why does he have to be so fucking beautiful? I think to myself. 

I’ve been gawking for too long because he seems to notice. I blush as he looks me up and down and then whispers something to Locke at his side. They both laugh quietly to themselves as I turn to listen to Mr. Scott began his description of our calculus class this year, but I can feel Cardan’s eyes burning into me with disdain. 

“Is he your boyfriend or something?” A quiet voice comes from my side. 

Surprised, I turn and look at my desk mate for the first time. He has sandy hair and hazel eyes. “What?” I whisper in return.

“The one with the black hair,” he nods his head in Cardan’s direction. “Cardan Greenbriar. Are you two dating? Or….” he trails off. I’m too shocked to reply. Why on Earth would he think that we were dating. “Cause I can let him sit here tomorrow. If that’s-”

“No- no. That won’t be necessary,” I shake my head and laugh. “Cardan and I are most certainly not dating.”

Confusion can be found in his eyes. “Are you about to be dating? Cause he’s obviously interested in you, and you with him.”

“Why would you think that?” I ask appalled. 

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “I have a good sense with these kinds of things. You two can’t keep your eyes off of each other, and I saw you guys talking this morning and it seemed-”

“You saw us talking this morning?” Damn. If this random guys saw us and thought this, anyone could have interpreted our conversation this morning incorrectly. 

“Yeah, you were literally in the middle of the school lawn when everyone was walking to class. Not the most private place in the universe,” he whispers to me. 

I quietly groaned. “So what? A conversation doesn’t mean that we’re dating. Cardan and I hate each other and have since I moved here in 6th grade. Everyone knows that.” 

He shrugs his shoulders. “I get where you’re coming from, Jude. People can change, and like I said, I can sense these kinds of things. Besides, he has this weird look when he watches you.”

“Yeah, the look of hatred,” I reply swiftly. 

“No, it’s not that. It’s something else. It’s as if-”

Mr. Scott shushes us and we return to looking at the syllabus that had been handed out. I glance over at Cardan who is still looking at me. All I can see in his eyes is pure malice. Shaking my head at my partner’s silly ideas, I write him a quick note:

What’s your name?

Garret. He replies.

I nod my head and memorize it. Unsure what to think about this new character that I’ve somehow only met. He seems to know a lot about other people, yet I’ve never seen him before. Garret. 

After class, Garret slides out the door before I get a chance to talk to him some more. I grab my stuff and make my way to the door, but I’m stopped by a black wall. Nicasia, Locke, and Valerian walk out the door, leaving me and Cardan. “I saw you checking me out. Like what you see?” he smirks down at me. 

I try to step around him, but he blocks me. “Let me go to class Cardan. I don’t want to be late.” 

“Is that so?” He looks down at me with mischief in his eyes. 

“Yes.” I reply, keeping my voice steady and strong. 

He moves aside with a flourish and I start to walk by him cautiously. Before I could recognize what was going on, Cardan grabbed my hand, intertwined our fingers, and steered us out of the classroom and into the bustling hallway. 

Eyes are on us and I can feel my cheeks heat up. I try to detach my hand from his, but his grip is like iron. “What the hell are you doing, Cardan? Let go of me.” I hiss at him. 

“And miss you being flustered at me touching you? Never.” He seems to be feeding off all of the attention and glares filled with hate and envy. I spot Garret in the hallway talking to a small girl. We make eye contact and he smirks at me, but I can only shake my head. 

Cardan soon turns us into the art classroom, my next class. I pry my hand from him and take a step away. “How did you know this is my next class?”

“Easy,” he rolls his eyes in a bored manner. “Because it’s my next class as well.” 

“What a coincidence,” I respond blandly and take a seat next to some random girl. “And so helpful for you to have remembered that.”

“Yep,” he smirks at me. “Just a dreadful coincidence.”

He spots Nicasia on the opposite side of the classroom and takes a seat next to her as class begins. 

Once the bell rings, I rush out of the classroom and walk swiftly to English and pray that I won’t see a certain beautiful boy enter the room. I’m not that lucky. Only a few seconds after I sit down, Cardan parades in and sits right next to me. I scoot away and glare at him from the corner of my eye.

He wears a bored expression and ignores my discomfort. 

We sit in silence, only listening to the teacher go over this year's syllabus. He picks at his nail polish and doodles small faeries. I’m watching him and he knows it. His drawings move from faeries to people, to us. Cardan smirks and sketches me with a quick “Jude” label. It’s just a doodle, but it’s still well done. My hair looks like it’s blowing in the wind, I wear a slight smile, my eyes are soft, but could still shoot daggers that kill. 

His drawing would be a sweet gesture until he ruins it by drawing him. He draws himself standing in front of me and his pants down. I realize that I’m on my knees and he gives me a little speech bubble saying, “You’re the king, Cardan.”

Cardan drops his pencil and sighs, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied smirk. I straighten in my own chair and flip him off discreetly and whisper, “I hate you.” 

“Oh Jude, that wasn’t your line,” he points at his drawing. “Your line is ‘You’re the king.’ I would love it if you took this seriously.”

I roll my eyes and ignore him for the rest of the class period. Hopefully I’ll be able to avoid him the rest of the day too.


	2. Chapter 2

I was able to avoid him for my next hour at least. After English, Cardan went his own way, and I went mine. Sending a prayer up to the gods, I walked to Journalism, the class responsible for the school newspaper. I’ve never taken it before, but it seemed like an easy class to take my senior year. 

The Journalism room is in a dark, secluded corner in the basement. I wouldn’t have been able to find it if I didn’t see a familiar face walk into the room first. “Hey, Garrett!”

He turns around with a stricken look on his face, as if he’s seen a ghost. “Don’t call me that!” he exclaims.

“It’s your name though, right?” I ask, confused. 

“Dammit, Jude,” he sighs and leads me into the room. “I guess you’re the new addition to The Shadows.” 

“The what?”

“I’ll explain later.”

I look around the dusty room: bookshelves line the walls, a few desks and tables are scattered around, four computers and next to a whiteboard. I notice two other people there with us. A small, dark skinned girl with white, pixie hair sits on a desk at the front of the room. A large, tan skinned guy with a long, crooked nose and a tuft of black hair stands next to her. 

“Ghost, who is this?” he says to Garrett. 

“Our new addition. Dain told you, remember?” Garrett takes a seat in front of the computers. 

“Who is Dain? Can somebody explain to me what is going on?” I sit down on a table and face the other three. “Cause I took this class as an easy A.”

“Oh, you’ll get an A, but it’s not going to be easy,” the tall guy says. 

“Oh my goodness,” the small girl says. “Can we stop freaking this poor girl out? Let’s just explain it to her.”

“Fine. I’m The Roach,” he grumbles. 

“The Roach?”

“I’m The Bomb,” the girl says. 

“And you know me, but I’m The Ghost,” Garrett says. 

“Code names?” I ask. “This seems a little extreme for The Greenbriar Gazette.” 

“You see,” Garrett- or The Ghost says. “It’s not The Gazette to us. We know it as The Shadow, and we are the shadows. Dain, you know him as Headmaster Greenbriar, has selected us to be his eyes and ears of the school. We know anything and everything about everyone. All to help Dain keep this school running.” 

“So, you’re spies?” I ask.

“More or less, yes, we’re spies and you’ve been selected to join us.”

“But the Gazette still gets printed.”

“We’re still journalists. We just keep most of our secrets,” The Bomb explains. 

I nod my head slowly. “I’ll need you to prove it though. To make sure this isn’t some elaborate prank.”

“Dain will be here tom-” The Ghost begins.

“No, I need something from the three of you. Tell me a secret about myself. Something I’ve never told anyone else- not even Taryn.”

They look at each other with an understanding before The Roach clears his throat, “in 8th grade, you gave Ms. Summers a rotten apple on purpose. She got food poisoning, and you avoided having to take your history test.” 

I stand up, shocked. “Fuck. How could you possibly know that?” 

The Roach shrugs. “We’ve been doing this for a while, and we’ve gotten to be quite good at it.”

I nod my head. “Okay, so why am I here? If you guys have been doing this forever? Why me, why now?”

They all give a shrug and turn back to what they were doing before I came in. “Dain will explain it all tomorrow,” The Bomb tells me. 

“Am I going to get a cool code name too?” I ask. 

The Ghost smiles and nods, “it’ll take some time. To really figure out what’s perfect for you.” 

“Sweet.”

Once the bell rings, the four of us head to lunch. The three of them break off into the lunch line and I head to look for Taryn, but she is nowhere to be found. I shoot her a text, and all I get is a reply saying that she’s sorry, she’s busy. 

What is she busy with? It’s not like we have any other friends. Cardan made sure of that a long time ago. Oh well. 

I’m scanning the lunch room for The Shadows when a dark, brooding figure steps in front of me. 

“Looking for your friends, Jude. Oh wait- you don’t have any,” Nicasia sneers from Cardan’s side. 

“I don’t know,” Valerian says from his other side. “I think she’s looking for something that will never come back: her parents.”

He smirks at me, but I only roll my eyes. “Wow Val. That’s the best you got? It truly is impossible to underestimate you.”

His face contorts as if he’s trying to think of a comeback; however, he doesn’t get a chance, Cardan waves them off. Nicasia and Valerian leave us with dirty looks and take their normal seats in the cafeteria. “Cardan, you really need new friends. Cause those two just aren’t cutting it anymore.” 

“Where were you last hour?” he asks, completely ignoring my latest comment. 

“Why?” 

“Because,” he says tiredly. “You were supposed to be in Spanish with me, but you were nowhere to be found.” 

“I’m not taking Spanish this year. I’m on the school newspaper. Spanish was my backup,” I look over his shoulder to see The Bomb taking a seat next to The Ghost. “Why does it matter anyways? You hate me.”

“Oh Jude. I do hate you. I hate you so much. I always want to see you in misery,” he takes a step closer to me. “You’re miserable everytime you’re around me, so I plan on being around you all the time during our remaining year here at the Academy.” 

I slowly back away from him, hoping to get away. He catches on and grabs my arm, pulling me closer to him than before. He smells of charcoal and cranberries and his thumb drawing circles on my arm is making it difficult to concentrate. 

“So,” he continues. “I wanted to take all the same classes as you. My only mishap it would seem is with this newspaper class. My brother assured me that everything that I wanted had been taken care of, but for some reason I was not offered to take this class. I’m wondering why.”

He looks me in the eye and I can see flakes of gold in the abyss. “Would you happen to know, Jude?”

I yank my arm away. “No, Cardan. I wouldn’t happen to know. It’s a small class. The school newspaper is exclusive.” I brush past him swiftly. “Figure it out on your own. You obviously have connections.”

I walk across the lunchroom and take a seat next to The Bomb. She smiles at me as I open my lunch box and begin to eat. I try to contribute to the conversation my fellow Shadows are having, but all I can focus on are Cardan’s eyes glaring at me from across the room in complete loathing.


	3. Chapter 3

Cardan wasn’t lying when he told me that he had taken all the same classes as me. For my last three hours, he was there either sitting on the opposite side of the room with one of his friends glaring at me, or, in fencing, partnering up with me to cause me anguish. 

One thing’s certain is that Cardan is enjoying the torture he is causing me. In every class, he had a slight smile when I squirmed under his gaze.

I hate him. 

In a single day he’s accomplished what he wanted. I’m obsessing over him, and it makes me miserable. I only want to be away from him, but it’s impossible when he’s made it so that he’s always there. At least I won’t have to deal with him after classes. 

Once the final bell rings, I head to the front lawn to find Taryn. We need to get our bags and finally decorate our dorm room. Viv promised that she would be waiting with Madoc in the parking lot with our stuff. 

I reach the lawn and spot Taryn texting on her phone, completely oblivious to me approaching her. “Hey, Taryn. Who are you texting?” I ask her. 

She immediately shuts off her phone and slides it into her back pocket. “No one. It’s nothing,” she responds quickly. 

“Okay. Are you sure?”

“Yep,” she turns her head and gives a wave toward the parking lot. “I see Vivienne.” 

I walk alongside her, wanting to keep pressing her on who she’s been talking to and where she was at lunch, but I decide it’s best to just drop it. I don’t have to know everything about her just because she’s my twin. 

Vivienne is standing at the front of the car with her arms crossed and her golden hair brushed back. Madoc gets out of the car as Taryn and I approach. “Hey guys,” Taryn says as she moves to the back of the car to help Madoc get our stuff from the trunk. 

“You good?” I ask Viv. 

She has an annoyed, cross look on her face like she’s trying to fight off a migraine. “Fine. Madoc and I just had a little chat, and I’m a little frustrated.” 

I nod my head and wait for her to continue with her explanation, but Madoc and Taryn come around with our suitcases. “I’ll tell you more about it later,” she says.

The four of us begin our walk to Taryn and I’s dorm. The girls stay in Insmire, while the boys stay in Insweal. We’re not supposed to intermingle after 9:00, but that’s not to say people haven’t found ways to stay with their significant others after curfew. 

We don’t talk to each other the entire way to Insmire Hall, and when we finally reach it Madoc leaves us with a cold goodbye and a reminder about our scheduled family dinner in 3 weeks. Taryn and I give him stiff hugs as Vivienne tells him that she’ll call an uber to get back to her place, she wanted to help us unpack. 

“Can I just say that you look fantastic Jude,” Vivienne tells me.

“Well, you did pick it out,” Taryn points out as she unlocks the door to the building with her key. 

“I always knew I was a genius,” she remarks to herself as she turns her head and spots someone a ways from us. “Is that Cardan Greenbriar? I’ll be right back. I have to say hi.”

She walks away as I roll my eyes and Taryn looks concerned. Viv and Cardan were friends and hung out when she still attended the academy. It’s infuriating to me that they get along so well, but Vivienne is Vivienne and there isn’t anything that I can do to change that. 

I can see Cardan smirk at me as Taryn and I wait for Vivienne to conclude their conversation. She eventually breaks away with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “God, I miss that kid,” she says as she reaches us. We enter the building and make our way to the fourth floor where the seniors stay. “We had some good times- Cardan and me. He’s so much fun at parties, always keeping it light and fun.”

“Yep, we got it Viv,” Taryn says as she sees the rage reach my eyes. 

“What?” Vivienne remarks as we reach Taryn and I’s rooms, separated by a bathroom. “Is he still teasing you guys?”

“Bullying,” I correct. “Bullying.”

“Come on. You guys are older now. You have to get over this.”

I sigh and sit down on my rickety twin bed. “We won’t ever get along, Vivienne. I despise him with everything I have, and he hates me as well. I’m fine that you’re friends, but don’t expect me to go out partying with him.”

She puts her hands up in mock surrender and opens one of the suitcases. “I just don’t think you would hate him as much if you got to know him. Besides he’s not half as terrible as his brother, Balekin.”

Taryn and I don’t respond causing the subject to be dropped. I don’t know a lot about Balekin, but there is no way anyone could be worse than Cardan. 

We spend the afternoon hanging posters on the wall, unpacking our clothes into the closet, and putting books on the shelf while listening to some old 80s rock. 

Once it’s all unpacked and up to Vivienne’s standards of “cute living” she decides to treat us out to dinner. After much debate the three of us settle on a taco place a block away from the academy: The Furry Taco. 

“I just don’t think it’s that appealing of a name,” Taryn says as we settle into our booth with tacos in hand. “The Furry Taco? It makes me think of mold, which is the last thing I want to think about when eating food.”

“It’s better than that greek place you wanted to go to,” I reply while taking a large helping of the guacamole we’re sharing. 

“You’re wrong, Taryn,” Vivienne decides. “It’s quirky and eye catching.” 

“Whatever,” she rolls her eyes and takes a bite of her pork carnita. “Let’s just talk about something else so I can enjoy this.” 

“Yeah, Viv, you owe me an explanation.” I turn to her. “Why were you and Madoc at each other’s throats when we got here?” 

She sighs and looks at the table. “He’s just so old fashioned, you know?”

“Yes, we’re aware,” I give her a warm smile. “We were raised by him.” 

“Well, I came out to him today.”

Taryn and I look at each other with surprise. Vivienne came out to us a few years ago, but we didn’t know if she was ever going to tell Madoc about it. We turn back to Viv and attempt to give her a reassuring look. 

“He was in such a good mood, and I figured today was as good as any other day. I just didn’t want to hide it any more. Let’s just say that his good mood did nothing to help me,” she laughs a little and dips a chip in salsa. 

Taryn reaches across the table and takes her free hand. “We love and support you, you have to know that,” she tells Viv. 

“Well, the good mood wasn’t the only reason,” Vivienne smiles and it reaches her eyes. 

“What do you mean?” I ask. 

“I’m in love,” she laughs. “I’m in love with the most amazing girl you’ll ever meet. Her name is Heather and she’s an art student at my college.”

“Oh my goodness!” I gasp. Vivienne has never had a serious relationship, and having her this in love with someone is fantastic. “This is the most amazing news. When will we get to meet her?”

“Soon, I hope,” she smiles to herself and gives a flourish with her hands. “Enough about me! Today was your first day of school. How did it go?” 

“Good,” Taryn replies. “It’s just like every other year, except Jude and I have no classes together.”

“Ugh,” I groan. “Don’t remind me.”

“What’s so bad about that?” Viv says. “Maybe you’ll make some new friends.”

I roll my eyes. “Have you met me? Making friends isn’t exactly my forte.”

“It’ll be okay. You two can get by without every single class together.” 

I groan again. “You know who I do have every single class with? You’ll get a kick out of this one,” I pause for drama. “The king himself, Cardan Greenbriar.”

Vivienne bursts out laughing and Taryn giggles quietly too. 

“It’s not funny!” I exclaim. “He did this on purpose to torture me! He hates me!”

“Hate to break it to you, Jude, but if a boy purposely puts him in all of your classes, it doesn’t mean that he hates you. He’s so into you.”

“Shut up,” I say to quiet her. “He is not.” 

“Just give him a chance.”

Later that night, I have trouble sleeping. I can’t stop thinking about what The Ghost said this morning and Viv tonight. Cardan does not like me. He hates me and he most definitely not into me. The thought of it makes me sick. 

When I finally fall asleep, I have a vivid dream, or I should say nightmare. 

I’m in the middle of the woods searching for someone. A light voice keeps calling my name sweetly. I find a wooden swing and decide to start swinging. Before I know it, Cardan is sitting on a branch in the tree in front of me. 

I stop swinging as he hops down and walks over to me. “What do you want?” I ask him. 

“Jude,” he says sweetly. “I thought I made it obvious.”

“Made what obvious?”

He grabs ahold of the swing’s ropes and pulls me close to him, I stand and our chests are pressed against each other. His black eyes peer into mine and he takes my chin in his hands.

“I’m in love with you, Jude. That’s why I want to be around you. Can you love me back?”

He brings his lips down to mine and kisses me softly. 

I sit up abruptly in bed- ending the nightmare. Dammit. What is wrong with me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Not a lot of Jurdan in this chapter.
> 
> I promise that there is more to come.
> 
> Let me know what you think! And I hope you’re only getting good vibes.
> 
> Thanks


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning Taryn and I walk to Elfame Hall side by side in our uniforms: a navy plaid skirt, white button up, navy blazer, and matching tie. We blend in with everyone else, which I am grateful for, it lessens the chance of us being spotted by the enemy. 

When we enter the building, we detach from each other unhappily as she makes her way to her first hour and myself to mine. I reach Mr. Scott’s class with plenty of time to spare and I take my seat next to The Ghost. I greet him with a quick, “good morning.”

He looks at me and raises his eyebrows. “Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

“What why?” I return to him while getting my books out. 

“You look a little un-put together. Has your hair even been brushed?” he attempts to ask nicely.

I take out my phone to look at myself in my camera. I look like a mess, I was dragging this morning; I hadn’t even realized I looked this bad. My hair’s completely wild, my tie isn't straight, and I didn’t bother to put on makeup causing me to look even more tired. 

“Ugh,” I groan. “I look like complete garbage.”

“Why?” The Ghost inquires.

“I didn’t sleep at all last night,” I explain as I attempt to put myself together. “I had an awful and confusing dream about-”

Cardan slides my books right off of my desk. “How are you this morning?” He smirks at me and looks me up and down in a disinterested manner. “Not good, by the looks of it.” 

I pick my books up off the floor and give him a death glare. “What do you want Cardan?”

It’s my turn to look him up and down, and I immediately regret it. His jet black hair falls beautifully around his face, his blazer’s sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, his top buttons are unbuttoned, and his tie is around his neck untied. He is a perfect mess. 

“I don’t want anything, Jude,” he smirks at me. “I just wanted to see how you were this morning. I enjoyed seeing your sister last night, perhaps she can come take your place.”

“Get lost, Cardan,” I snarl at him. 

He walks away from my desk with his hands raised in mock surrender and takes his seat next to Locke across the room. His eyes remain locked on me, so I keep mine on his. Both of us stare at each other with hatred unwavering until Mr. Scott calls on Cardan. “Mr. Greenbriar, your uniform is violating the dress code.”

Cardan turns his head to the front of the room with a mischievous look. “And what exact rule am I breaking?” he asks. 

“Your tie is not tied properly, your shirt is not buttoned completely, and the blazer should not be worn like that,” Mr. Scott grumbles out. 

“Is that so?” Cardan says in a self-assured manner. 

“Yes. It is,” Mr. Scott replies while moving closer to Cardan’s desk.

Cardan nudges Locke who reaches into his bag and hands him the school handbook. Mr. Scott reaches his desk as Cardan hands him the book flipped open.

“Now, as you can see,” Cardan says while pointing to the page. “The dress code states that I’m not breaking any rules very clearly: a tie must be around your neck, it doesn’t say tied; a white button up shirt must be worn with no more than three buttons undone, which I am complying with; and finally, it states nowhere that a blazer can’t be rolled up, but only that it must be worn.” 

Mr. Scott returns the handbook to him and walks back to the front of the room. 

“I rest my case.” 

Locke gives him a few sarcastic claps as he leans back in his chair with a satisfied smirk. He gives me a wink, and I turn away annoyed. He gets away with everything. If anyone else acted like that, they’d get a detention, but not Cardan Greenbriar. 

I’m irritated the rest of the class period, and I can feel Cardan’s eyes on me the whole time. Mr. Scott is teaching, but I can’t focus on a single thing he is saying. 

As soon as the bell rings, I stand up and expect The Ghost to be at my side, but he is nowhere to be found. How does he sneak out like that? I think to myself. 

In my search for The Ghost, I am left alone in the classroom with the same situation as yesterday. Cardan stands before me with an impish expression. “Go away, Cardan.” 

“Oh come on, Jude. I was just waiting for you so we could walk to our next class.”

I roll my eyes and start to walk out of the classroom. He walks alongside me and puts his arm around my shoulders to steer me out the door. I shrug his arm off of me as we enter the hallway. “What are you playing at?” I ask him. 

He lets out a sigh. “Absolutely nothing. Maybe I just want to be a nice guy and walk you to class.” 

I let out a laugh. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” 

He laughs a little too. “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have believed it either,” he says as we reach the art classroom. 

Cardan leaves me and takes his seat next to a scowling Nicasia. I watch him curiously, but he doesn’t glare at me or snicker with Nicasia. He simply listens to the teacher. How odd.

We walk to English together as well, and he is nothing but nice to me. He doesn’t whisper any insults in my ear, pull my hair, or toss my books around. Maybe he decided to grow up. 

The class soon starts and Mrs. Shannon begins to teach. “Over the next few weeks,” she begins, “you are going to be working on a project with the person you’re sitting next to.” 

Cardan and I look at each other. I feel repulsed at the thought of doing this project with him, but he only wears a pleasant face and he gives me a kind wink. I turn away and continue to listen. 

“The two of you are going to pick out a book that has shaped the world into the society we know today. You’ll both read the book, write a paper on the impact, and give the class a presentation on the book’s influence. You have today and tomorrow to get things started between the two of you, but after that it will only be out of class work.” 

She passes out the rubric and assignment description as we all turn to each other and begin discussing what book to choose. “Okay, Cardan, have any ideas?”

“Yep, this seems pretty simple to me,” he tells me. 

“Is that so?” I roll my eyes. “What god awful book do you want us to read?”

“The Feminine Mystique,” he responds dryly. 

I’m shocked. I wasn’t expecting an actual good book with a real impact. “What?” he asks after I haven’t responded for a minute. “Have you never heard of it?” 

“Of course, I’ve read it,” I manage to get out. “I just wasn’t expecting you to suggest that. Have you read it?” 

“Naturally,” he leans back in his chair. “It single handedly shaped the second wave feminism. We wouldn’t be where we are today without it, which is why we should read it.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Wow. I think to myself. Maybe Cardan isn’t as bad as I thought. Vivienne’s words ring in my head. ‘Just give him a chance.’ Perhaps she’s right. 

At the end of class, we exchange phone numbers for scheduling purposes, and he leaves me with a flourish and warm feeling inside. I realize it’s time for my meeting with Dain and The Shadows, so I rush down to the basement quickly. 

The Roach and The Bomb are already waiting in the room when I arrive and The Ghost walks in a few steps behind me. “So,” I ask, “how does this usually go?”

“Dain will be here shortly,” The Bomb tells me. “He’ll explain what you're going to be doing. We’ll figure out the day to day tomorrow.”

I nod my head and take a seat at one of the tables and wait with the others. It’s five minutes after the bell rings when Dain arrives. It’s hard to believe that he is Cardan’s brother. He has blonde curly hair and light eyes. He wears a kind smile, and his presence is warm and inviting. 

He greets us with, “hello all. It’s so nice to see you again.” 

We all give slight nods and The Roach says, “we’re glad to be here.” 

“I plan on keeping things business as usual with the three of you,” he motions to my peers. “Keep gathering information about the students in teachers in your own way. Let each other know and The Roach is responsible for telling me anything that needs to be brought to my attention.” 

Dain turns to me and gives me a smile. “Welcome, Jude. I’m sure you’re confused about all of this and wondering why I would select you to be in my band of shadows.”

“Yeah,” I say. “I’m not quite sure why I’m here. I don’t think I have the correct skill set.” 

“On the contrary, Jude, you have the perfect skill set for exactly what I need,” he takes a seat at the head desk and we all face him curiously. “Although you may not know what they are yet. You see, my three spies have been able to gather all the information in the world except from a certain group of students.

“They are the ‘popular’ kids. They are very close knit and don’t share their secrets with strangers. This makes it difficult for my shadows to know anything about them. They’ve done the most wrong that can destroy the academy if I don’t have a handle on it beforehand. So, Jude I have selected you to befriend and grow close to this group of students. Go to their parties, laugh at their jokes, and report back to me everything you learn about them.”

He hands me a list of about 12 students. “These are the ones I want information on. In the meantime, during class The Shadows will teach you all you need to know about completing these tasks and becoming The Shadow I need.”

I skim the list and look for familiar names as Dain stands up and makes his way to the door. “Wait-” I call to him before he can leave. “You’re brother is on here. Can’t you just talk to him?”

He shakes his head. “I’m afraid Cardan and I don’t get along as well as I might like.”

I nod my head in understanding. 

“Good luck, Jude,” he says as he leaves. “I know you will be able to do this for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments! I’m glad people actually like this.
> 
> I promise that I have some good plans for Jurdan. 
> 
> Cool thanks


	5. Chapter 5

The four of us go to lunch together after class is over because once again Taryn is nonexistent. The Ghost, The Bomb, and I all sit at one table with our lunches; The Roach completely disappears with a quick explanation of, “It’s my turn for patrolling.” 

We eat lunch and discuss how our classes are going and stuff we did over the summer. It seems like they mostly hung out together and did stuff for Dain. Joining The Shadows has been intimidating, but I already feel like I’m one of them. 

During the middle of lunch, Cardan comes up to our table. “How are you doing, Jude?” he asks in a sickly sweet voice. 

“What do you want?” I grumble to him. “I don’t have any food that you’d like.” 

“Don’t worry. I’ve grown up since Sophomore year, I’m not interested in anything you have,” he tells me, but I'm wary. It was a habit of his to take the best things from me during lunch time of our second year in high school. 

“Okay, so what do you want?” I ask him. 

“No need to get an attitude. Do I need a reason to talk to you, my sweet Jude?” he asks with a wink. 

I roll my eyes and look at my tablemates who are listening intently. “Yes, Cardan, you do.” 

“Fine,” he mumbles. “I have a reason, but it’s not the usual one. I only wanted to ask you if you wanted this cookie?” 

He holds out a large chocolate cookie. “What’s the catch?” I ask with caution.

“No catch. I just got an extra one for Locke, but he isn’t at lunch,” I take the cookie from his waiting hand. “So, I thought I’d give it to you.” 

I sniff the cookie gingerly, expecting something nasty, but I only get sweetness. “What did you put in this? Pot, laxatives, dog poop? Something worse to make me do terrible things?”

Cardan raises his hand in surrender. “I promise, I didn’t lace it with anything. I just bought it from the kind lunch ladies. You can ask them if they put anything in it besides love.” 

I nibble the cookie hesitantly. It tastes normal, so I decide that he is telling the truth. Besides, when Cardan lies his right eyebrow raises slightly, and it hasn’t once since we began talking. 

He begins to walk away, but turns around, “I almost forgot. Jude, is it okay to meet in the pool room tomorrow during English? To work on our project. I already talked to Mrs. Shannon, and she’s okay with it.”

“Sure,” I say without hesitation. “I’ll meet you there.” 

“Sweet,” he says with a smile and walks away. 

I turn back to The Ghost and The Bomb where I find accusing faces. “What?” I ask dryly. 

“Aren’t you concerned?” The Bomb asks. 

“About what?”

“Cardan, of course,” she replies quickly. 

“He was just being nice,” I tell her. 

“That’s what’s so concerning,” The Ghost chimes in. “Has he ever been nice to you? Like ever?” 

I think for a minute before replying quietly, “I suppose not.” 

“Just be careful,” he tells me. 

Like yesterday, the second half of the day moved quickly and everything was normal, well, except for Cardan’s behavior. He was a kind gentleman. He didn’t even insult my fencing once. It was all very strange, but I’m fine with the change of heart Cardan has found. Maybe we’ll be able to become friends. 

When classes did finally end, I returned to my dormitory to watch some television before dinner and hopefully catch up with Taryn. She doesn’t return, however, to her room until right before dinner is served. “Ready for dinner?” I ask her. 

“I’m actually not hungry. I just ate,” she tells me. 

“What?” I question her. “With who? And where have you been during lunch? You’re acting so strange.”

She blushes a deep shade of red. “Well I… I’ve been seeing someone.”

“Oh my goodness!” I exclaim. “Who?”

“I can’t tell you yet… it’s- it’s a secret,” she sits on her bed with a sigh. “But he’s amazing Jude. I’m really falling for him.” 

I sit next to her and take her hand. “I can’t say that I’m not hurt that you won’t tell me, Taryn. If you’re happy, I’m happy though.”

“Thanks, Jude,” she says with a daydreaming smile. 

Abandoning my idea of getting food from the school cafe, I warm up a frozen burrito and binge watch New Girl for the rest of the night. When I eventually close my eyes, my dreams are dry and barren. 

I wake up the next morning bright eyed and bushy tailed. I have plenty of time to eat a real breakfast, get properly dressed, curl my hair, and even put on a little makeup. Taryn and I walk to class at a normal pace, and I’m neither sweaty nor out of breath when I arrive for Mr. Scotts class. 

I take my usual seat next to The Ghost, who looks depressed. “Are you okay?” I ask him. 

He gives me a solid yawn and continues to text on his phone. 

Cardan strolls in looking as good as he did the day before. He looks me up and down and says, “Looking good, Jude. I can see that you actually woke up on time this morning.” 

“Thanks, Cardan,” I respond with a smile. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I see The Ghost roll his eyes, but I choose not to challenge him. Cardan walks me to Art after Calculus with casual, kind conversation. I can almost forget that two days ago his only mission was to make me miserable. 

After Art, I’m ready to go to Mrs. Shannon’s class, but I remember Cardan’s plan to work by the pool. So, I change course. 

Entering the pool, the smell of chlorine overwhelms me. I set my bag down by the door and call out to Cardan. “So, why did you want to meet in here?”

“To get away to do some work. I also really enjoy water- it relaxes me,” he’s sitting on the bleachers looking at the 14 ft. diving area. “Besides, I didn’t want anyone around when I do this-”

Heavy arms wrap around me and fling me into the deep waters. I sink into the water, instantly becoming soaked. Bubbles float all around me, and I’m disoriented. My shoes make it difficult to swim to the surface, but I manage to. 

Laughing can be heard behind me, but I’m not sure who it is. I manage to wrangle off my Converse, so I throw them out of the water and begin to tread water. 

Cardan lounges in front of me in a bored manner. He has a smirk on his face that says ‘I’m better than you.’ Valerian stands next to Cardan with a wide grin on his face. I turn in the water and see Locke leaning up against the diving board. I keep turning to see Nicasia and her blue hair laughing behind me.

“Wow, good prank guys. It really takes so much to get out of a pool,” I say sarcastically with an eye roll. 

I swim to the wall, but as soon as I get there Valerian is standing over the top of me. 

“I wouldn’t try that, Jude,” Cardan says lazily from his seat. “He’ll throw you back in. He finds it quite amusing how easy you are to push around.” 

Valerian grins as I swim back to the middle of the water. 

“This is why you were so nice to me?” I ask Cardan. “So, I would lower my guard.”

He shrugs his shoulder and looks up at the ceiling. 

“Are you just going to keep me in here?”

“Until you learn your place,” Nicasia sneers. 

“Yeah, you’ve been getting too comfortable,” Valerian adds. “It’s that time of year where you need to be reminded about who’s in charge at this school.”

Sighing, I sink into the water and pop back up. “Well, I hope you guys get comfortable. Cause I’m not quite sure who you’re talking about. Besides, like you’re little prince over there,” I say motioning to Cardan. “I’m a fan of water. I can do this all day.” 

I begin to float on my back, putting my ears in the water to block out the insults Valerian and Nicasia are shooting at me. I’m floating for a while when I hear a thump. Straightening in the water, I see a textbook float towards me and another flying out of Valerian’s hands.

I groan. “C’mon guys. Where is your creativity? It’s only the third day of school. I haven’t used any of these notebooks or textbooks yet. I can just buy more.” 

Valerian continues to throw the contents of my bag into the pool as Locke makes his way over to Cardan. Nicasia is snickering behind me, but I manage to catch some of their conversation. 

“Cardan, this is stupid. Just let her go. You made your point. She’s soaking wet. What else do you need?”

“God Locke. When did you get so dull? A month ago you would have hatched this plan yourself.”

“Well, I’ve changed and so should you.”

“If you’re not going to have any fun, just leave.”

“Fine.” 

“Fine.”

Locke leaves and I return my attention back to Valerian who has reached farther into my bag and pulls out a small notebook. At the sight of the journal, I immediately stiffen, and Cardan notices. “Stop,” he calls to Valerian. “Give that to me.” 

Valerian obliges and Nicasia goes quiet. “Cardan, listen,” I plead. “That journal is really important to me and my family.”

“It doesn’t look so special to me,” he dangles it over the pool and waves it back and forth. 

“Please, Cardan, please. Just put it down. I’ll do whatever you ask,” I beg. 

“Is that so?” he smirks his evil smirk. “Val, Nicasia get out of here. Jude and I have a very important meeting.” 

They both leave begrudgingly with glares and grumbles. 

Cardan and I are soon locked in a stare. He still holds the journal over the water. “Why is this cheap notebook so important to you?” 

I want to lie, but I know that I can’t. “Cardan,” I soften my voice. “It- it was my mother’s diary. It’s the only thing that I have that was truly hers. It can’t be ruined. You have to understand, you lost a mother too.” 

His eyes soften a little, but the diary still hangs over the edge. “What are you willing to do to get it back?” 

“Anything,” I state. 

“Anything?”

“Anything.” 

He thinks for a moment and backs away from the pool with a smirk. “Get out then.” 

I let out a sigh of relief and exit the pool soaking wet. “So, what do you want?” I ask cautiously. 

“Get on your knees,” he responds. 

“I’m not doing that.”

He rolls his eyes. “That’s not what I meant. Get on your knees and beg me to forgive you. Tell me I’m better than you.” 

Fury rises within me. “There is not a chance in hell that I’m going to do that.” 

“Well, I guess you won’t be getting your mom’s journal back then,” he puts it in his back waistband and sprawls across the bleachers again. 

“Is there anything else that I could do instead?” I ask- trying to keep the anger from my voice. 

“There is one other thing,” he smiles to himself. “But, you’ll never do it.”

“Try me.”

“I’ll give you the diary, if you give me a kiss.”

My jaw drops. That was the last thing I was expecting. Kissing Cardan? I could never do that. Not even in my wildest dreams, well, maybe not in my normal dreams would I ever want to do that. He’s more beautiful than anyone at school, but the very thought of him makes me boil with rage. 

I’ve been thinking about it too long. Cardan stands up and walks to the edge of the pool. He’s about to drop the diary in the water when I call out to him, “I’ll do it!” 

He turns with surprised eyes. “What?” 

“I’ll… I’ll kiss you, Cardan,” I tell him. 

I walk over to him where he stands frozen a few feet from the pool before I come to my senses. When I reach him, his eyes have darkened with an emotion I can’t read. I stand directly in front of him and place my arms around his neck. We both breathe heavily and he wraps his arms at my hips. 

I tug on his neck and bring his lips down to me. I whisper, “I hate you,” just before our lips touch. 

The kiss is soft at first, but he pushes harder, gaining more and more from me. I’m inexperienced when it comes to these things, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. I can only work off of instincts. My hands move to his hair and I pull and run my hands through his curls. 

He pulls me closer to him and picks me up. My legs immediately wrap around him as he sucks on my lower lip. Our breathing becomes shallow and we’re lost in the passion of the kiss. 

We stop when the bell rings above us realizing that the kiss had gotten out of hand. I step away from him and look at his now wet uniform, refusing to meet his eyes. He hands me the journal without a word and leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo
> 
> That happened I guess. Jurdan is heating up even though Cardan is a bully. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I promise I have a plan for these two.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments. I love to read through them. I’m just glad I can help eliminate boredom during the quarantine (don’t worry my family and myself are doing great!).
> 
> Anyways....  
> Stay tuned I’ll write the next chapter as soon as I can. 
> 
> XOXO Gossip Girl   
> -omg so lame idk why I did that


	6. Chapter 6

I manage to fish the papers and textbooks that Valerian tossed into the pool as the tardy bell rings. I stuff them into my backpack, but my shoes back on and walk quickly to the basement. 

I arrived at our secret room still soaked with pool water. The three of them barely look up at me when I sit down with a huff. “Aaarrrrrgggghhh!” I cry out in frustration. “I hate him!”

“Yeah, The Ghost told us that he threw you in the pool,” The Roach says nonchalantly. 

“What?” I exclaim while I strip from my blazer. “How could you possibly know that?”

The Ghost shrugs. “I was suspicious yesterday when he invited you to work there, so I went there last hour to make sure you would be okay.”

He hands me my laptop and cellphone. “When I saw them throw you in, I got these out of your bag.” 

“Thanks,” I say, taking them from him. “How long were you watching?”

“Oh,” he says casually. “Once they started to throw your schoolwork in, I decided that I had seen enough. Besides, I had other things that I needed to look into.”

I sigh in relief that he didn’t see what happened with Cardan. “Okay, good.” 

“Why?” he asks with suspicion in his voice. “Was there something I needed to see?”

“No, no. I’m just embarrassed you saw anything at all.” I unlock my phone and look at myself in the camera. “I look like a mess. What am I going to do? We can’t leave the building during school hours.” 

“You won’t need to leave the building to fix yourself,” The Bomb says as the boys turn back to what they were doing. “I was going to tell you today anyways.”

She opens one of the cabinets and I walk over and find extra uniforms, textbooks, food, anything that you would need. She pulls a couple of items out and grabs my hand. “We’ll be back in a few, boys.”

We go to the first floor and enter the restroom. I change out of my wet uniform and put on a dry one while The Ghost hums a song to herself. She then brushes through my hair and styles it in a top knot. I look in the mirror and laugh at my ruined, runny mascara. “Great day to wear makeup.” 

“Don’t worry,” she tells me. “I have makeup remover and some products for touch ups.” 

I smile and let her start cleaning my face. “You’re the best.” 

“I know.” She continues to wipe the gunk off my face when she stops suddenly. “That’s strange,” she says. 

“What?” 

“There’s gold highlighter in some strange spots,” she tells me with a raised eyebrow. 

“I put it there,” I respond with a very unconvincing tone. 

She finishes with the removal and begins to apply some makeup. “You can tell me the truth, Jude. It’s just you and me here, and I can keep a secret.” 

I let out a sigh and hop down from the counter I was sitting on as she finishes. “You know about Cardan and I’s kiss, don’t you?” 

The Bomb nods her head. “I was running surveillance at the time, but don’t worry, I deleted the video. It seemed private.”

“Thank you,” I squeeze her hand. 

“I’ll always have your back. I’m not opposed to it by the way,” she adds. 

“Opposed to what?”

“You and Cardan.”

I scoff. 

“You obviously have chemistry. I just think you two both have some things you need to work out before becoming a couple.”

We begin to walk back to the basement. I let out a little laugh. “I hate to break it to you, but Cardan and I are never going to happen. We absolutely hate each other.” 

Cardan completely avoids me the rest of the day. He doesn’t talk to me, or partner up with me during fencing; however, every time I look at him, he’s looking at me. His black eyes are more intense than ever, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t shake his gaze from me. The only thing to do is to look away and ignore him. 

After school, I head to my dorm room, but I’m caught up by Locke on the fourth floor. He stops me as I leave the stairwell, “I’m sorry about today.”

“Sorry about what? You didn’t get thrown into a pool,” I spit at him.” 

“I tried to stop him, but you know how he gets,” he says in a practiced apologetic tone. 

“Yeah, I do,” I mutter and blow past him. 

Taryn’s actually in her room when I get there. “How was your day?” she singsongs out. 

“It was-” I want to spill everything out that happened today. From being thrown in the pool, to kissing Cardan, to the weird encounter with Locke. For some reason, I hesitate. Suddenly, I don’t want to tell her anything about it, she wouldn’t understand. “It was good. Pretty boring.” 

“Mine too,” she replies. “Pretty great.” 

She flops back on her bed and I lay next to her. We lay in bed watching random videos on Youtube until it’s time for dinner and eventually bed. 

Cardan haunts my dreams again. I’m lost in a large house, Cardan lurks behind every corner looking beautiful as always. I avoid him as best as I can, but I get too close and he grabs me and holds me tight in his arms. “You’ll be mine forever, I promise.” 

I wake up to my alarm with a groan, it feels like I slept for a total of five minutes; nevertheless, I persevere and Taryn and I arrive to class with plenty of time. The Ghost is already in his seat when I sit down next to him. “Good morning,” I tell him.

He responds to me with a tight smile. 

“Are you ok-” I begin to ask him, but once again, I am interrupted by Locke. 

“Good morning, Jude,” he says to me. 

“Um. Hi?” I respond. 

“Are you well?” he asks. 

“Yes,” I roll my eyes, annoyed. “Is there something that you want, Locke? Cause it’d be easier if you came right out and said it.” 

Concern crosses his face. “I don’t want anything. I was just wondering how you were considering everything that happened yesterday.” 

“Oh, well, I’m fine,” I answer. “Thanks for asking.” 

He leaves my desk and sits next to a dark faced Cardan. 

I turn to The Ghost. “That was weird right?” 

He nods his head. “Yeah, it was,” he responds with a bothered tone. “Especially considering-”

“Good morning, class. Please get your notes out from yesterday,” Mr. Scott announces as the bells rings. 

“Considering what?” I ask The Ghost.

“I’ll tell you during fourth hour,” he whispers to me. 

Fourth hour can’t come soon enough. My classes droned on forever and Cardan wouldn’t communicate with me in any way. He either glared at me, or he completely ignored me. A complete change of pace from two days ago. 

“Considering what?” I demand from The Ghost as soon as I arrive in our room. 

He turns to me annoyed, “considering that he has been going out with your sister for the last month.”

“What?” I exclaim. “That is not possible. Vivienne is gay.” 

“Not Vivienne,” he says with sad eyes. “Taryn.” 

“Oh,” I breathe out, blindsided. How could she keep something like this from me? She told me she was seeing someone. But Locke? And for a whole month?

The Roach shows me video surveillance of them kissing. 

“Ew. I did not need to see that.” I lean my head back in frustration. “Locke? Really, Taryn? How could she?” 

“My thought process exactly,” The Ghost sighs. “And now, for some reason, he’s flirting with you.” 

“He wasn’t flirting,” I counter. 

“Trust me, he was flirting,” he grumbles. “And when he has Taryn too. What a despicable human being.” 

I study The Ghost, and he’s genuinely pissed off and hurt by this. I’m confused why, but then it hits me. “You like her,” I say. 

“What?” 

“Taryn, you really like her.” 

“No, I don’t,” he says sternly. 

“Yes, you do,” The Roach grumbles. 

The Ghost looks at all of us with shock in his eyes, but he softens down. “Yeah, I suppose I do.” 

“It’s about time you admit it,” The Bomb pipes up from her computer. 

I smile at him. “Well, she does have good blood.” 

When the lunch bell rings, the four of us go to lunch with The Bomb disappearing for who knows what. “When are you guys going to actually teach me how to be a spy?” I ask The Roach and The Ghost. 

“All in good time,” The Roach says. 

I roll my eyes and make my way to the vending machine to get a bag of chips. While punching in my number, Locke walks up to me. “I didn’t notice this morning, but you look really good,” he tells me with a smile that’s supposed to be charming. 

“Leave me alone, Locke,” I mutter. 

His fox face seems confused. “Did I do something to offend you?”

“Hmmm, let me think. You’re dating my sister, but hitting on me. Let me check to see if I dislike that.” 

Anger reaches his face. “Did Taryn tell you?” 

“No, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re playing games with her,” I snipe. 

He smiles his stupid Locke smile. “Oh, Jude, I love games and Taryn seems to be enjoying it too. She’s thrilled at the secrets she holds.” 

“Just stay away from me, and my sister. Or else.” I slam down on his foot and walk past him. 

The Roach and The Ghost seem impressed when I take a seat at the table, still fuming. Halfway through lunch, Cardan comes to our table and sits next to me. “What do you want, Cardan?” 

He seems uncomfortable, and he clenches and unclenches his hands. “I’m sorry about yesterday.” 

“What?” I exclaim in shock. 

He looks at his hands and then back up to meet my eyes. “It was immature and I regret it. So, in good faith, I would like to invite you to my birthday party Friday night.”

“Wait-” I put my hands up in surprise. “You throw me in a pool, mess with my mind, ignore me for a day, and then invite me to a party? It doesn’t add up, Cardan.” 

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I know it doesn’t, and you shouldn’t trust me. But come to the party, have a good time, so we can leave all of the cruelty behind and just have a normal senior year.” 

“I don’t know…” I say reluctantly. 

“That’s fine,” he stands. “I’ll send you the information, so you can come if you want.” 

Cardan leaves the table and I turn to my fellow Shadows. “Can you believe the nerve of that guy? There is no way I’m going to that party.” 

“Yes, you are,” The Roach says. 

“No, I’m not.” 

“In case you forgot, Dain gave you a mission. This party would be the perfect way to get in the mindset of these kids. Start building connections, getting on the inside,” he explains to me. 

I turn to The Ghost for help, but he only shrugs. “The Roach is right.” 

“Fine! I’ll go to his stupid birthday party.” I groan out and turn to The Ghost. “But you’re coming with me. I don’t know how to be a spy, yet. Besides, Taryn will be there, so you can start getting to know her to get her away from that asshole she’s dating.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop Woop! Get ready for a party next chapter. It’ll be a good time. 
> 
> Also, that was all the Jude/Locke romance we’ll be getting. I hate Locke and that ship soooo
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments. I love reading them! <3


	7. Chapter 7

Friday night comes too soon. 

Taryn and I both got invited to Cardan’s birthday bash, so Vivienne came over to help us with hair and makeup ready for our first ‘real’ party. Taryn can manage her own hair and makeup, but I’m basically useless. I always preferred to do things with Madoc while Taryn and Viv hung around Oriana. 

The party theme is faerie tale, so Vivienne brought Taryn and I whimsical dresses from her closet. Taryn’s is a light blue flowy dress with a deep neckline and bell sleeves. My dress is short and black. It has no sleeves and back, but it comes to my neck with two short trains coming from my shoulders. 

Taryn gives herself a crown braid, and her makeup has a subtle faerie glow to it. Vivienne leaves most of my hair down, however, she manages to wrestle it to give me two horns from the side of my head. My makeup is not as subtle as Taryn’s. Viv paints my face with gold eyeshadow and highlighter, and she finishes it off with thick, dark eyeliner. She then layers Taryn and I with jewelry; Taryn wears silver, and I wear gold. 

Once she gets us ready, she rushes off with a, “Heather is home alone.” 

So, Taryn and I wait awkwardly for The Ghost to arrive so we can walk to the party. 

“Is there anything you want to tell me?” I ask her after a few minutes of silence. 

“No…” 

I sigh. “I’m your sister, Taryn- not just your sister, your twin. You shouldn’t keep secrets from me.” 

“I’m not keeping secrets,” she bargains. “I told you that I was seeing someone.” 

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me that it was Locke,” I spit at her. 

Her face goes white with shock. Surprise and fear reach her eyes, and I can tell that she is trying to figure out a way to disprove me. 

“Don’t bother denying it.” 

After another minute, she finally breaks down. “Fine, it’s true. So what if I’m dating Locke? Just because he’s friends with Cardan-”

“That’s not why I’m mad,” I tell her, cutting her off. “Locke likes to play games, Taryn. First, he tells you to keep this a secret. Then he hits on me. It’s not healthy.” 

“He hit on you?” she asks with an accusing tone. 

“Yes, he did. Isn’t that the most vile thing you’ve ever heard?”

She shrugs her shoulders like it’s no big deal. “Locke likes to play games,” she lulls. “He likes to test my love, that’s all.”

“You love him?” I ask precariously. 

“Yes, and he loves me,” she smiles to herself. “It’s the most wonderful thing.” 

I stand up and face her, full of unresolved anger. “Snap out of it Taryn!” 

“What?” she asks in confusion. 

“Ugh!” I groan. “How could you be so obtuse? You say that you love him, but it’s only been a month. And you can’t tell anyone. And he hits on your twin sister! Why are you falling for his bullshit!” 

Taryn stands up, face full of rage, but before she can speak, a soft knock comes from the door. We turn away from each other- ending our argument. 

I answer the door to find The Ghost dressed in an all black, armored outfit, completed with a cape. “Nice look,” I giggle. 

He looks me up and down. “Same for you and your horns,” he smiles, motioning to them sticking out from my head. 

“Hey, don’t make fun. I like them a lot,” I reply

He raises his hands in surrender and we both laugh. When Taryn clears her throat behind us, “So,” she says. “Are you going to introduce me?”

“Oh, right.” I turn and motion to each of them. “Taryn this is The Gh- Garrett, this is Garrett. Garrett this is Taryn.” 

The Ghost stands up straighter and puffs up his chest. He holds out his hand for her to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You look stunning.” 

“Thanks,” she blushes and looks down. “Well, we should be going.”

Taryn walks out the door completely ignoring me. 

I look at The Ghost and laugh. “‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’” I mock. 

“I was being charming,” he remarks. 

We follow after Taryn. The party is in the school cafeteria and the three of us walk there quickly; Taryn and The Ghost walk side by side as I hang back a little, allowing them to talk. 

The party is in full swing when we arrive and the cafeteria has completely transformed. Vines hug the walls and lights trickle down from the ceiling. Large pillows, tables, and couches are scattered around the dance floor. Everyone is dressed in some sort of faerie-like dress, but nobody stands out as much as Cardan. 

Cardan sits lazily on a throne in the center of the room. He wears tight black jeans and a golden vest, leaving his lean abs out for everyone to see. His golden highlighter makes his cheekbones even sharper and more beautiful. He wears a golden crown placed lopsided on his head. 

Several people flock around him, but he sees me and smirks with a raised eyebrow. He tilts his goblet in my direction in good faith. 

“You’re drooling,” The Ghost whispers in my ear and I turn to him quickly. 

I smack him on the arm. “I am not.” 

“Okay whatever.” 

I look at my side for Taryn, but she has already disappeared to find Locke. Instead of worrying about her, I turn to The Ghost. “So, fellow spy, what are we going to be doing?” 

“Well, you’re not going to be spying. Leave that to me. You need to make relationships with the people from Dain’s list. Get to know them. Make them trust you. It’ll probably take longer than just this party, but this will be a good start,” he states. 

“I thought we were shadows,” I reply annoyed that I’ll actually have to party at this party. 

The Ghost sighs. “Just look for me around the room, okay? Try to learn something from what I’ll be doing.” 

“Okay-” I turn to him, but he’s gone. “Dammit. How does he always do that?” I say to myself. 

“Do what? Look incredibly handsome,” I look up to see Cardan smirking down at me. 

“Happy birthday!” I tell him in the most polite voice I can muster. “This is a hell of a party.” 

“Thanks,” he says, linking his arm in mine and walking me to his throne. “Locke planned it. He has an affinity for revelry.” 

“How is it possible that you’re having this booze filled party in the school?” I ask him. 

“It’s called Greenbriar Academy, Jude. You’d think you’d pick up on this by now, but I can basically do whatever I want and not get in trouble,” he says in an uninterested tone. 

“I’ve noticed,” I grumble quietly to myself. 

We reach his throne and he sits me down on the arm of it as he resumes his position, this time facing me. I roll my eyes. “Don’t you think all of this is a little excessive?”

He only shrugs his shoulders and takes a sip of his drink.

“And what’s with the crown?” I tease. “Should I call you King Cardan?” 

“That’s completely absurd,” he laughs. “Prince Cardan should suffice.” 

“Okay then,” I take his goblet from him and take a sip of the strong spirit. I lean down to him so our eyes are on the same level. “Prince Cardan, why did you invite me here tonight? You wanted to apologize, and for some reason I believe that you’re sorry. There was no need to invite me here, or more importantly talk to me and parade me up to your throne. Do you want to know why I think you invited me? I think-”

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Nicasia snarls as she steps up onto the platform the throne is sitting on. 

I move away from Cardan’s panicked eyes and stand beside his throne. “No, no cat. Just your darling prince here,” I motion to Cardan with his own goblet and take another sip.

She watches me take a drink and then moves her eyes to Cardan. He would look calm and collected to anyone else, but the two of us can tell that he’s flustered. “Go away, Nicasia. Jude and I were in the middle of something,” he growls out. 

Nicasia looks outraged and she begins to turn away, but Valerian and Locke come onto the platform. “What’s going on here?” Locke asks. 

They both look between the three of us and anger rises in Valerian’s eyes when he sees me. I cross my arms over my chest in defense and shrink from their gazes. “Nothing’s going on here,” Cardan gripes. “Jude and I were talking, and Nicasia was leaving.” 

“Now what a minute,” Valerian huffs. “Jude-”

“Oh my goodness,” I interrupt. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Val. If my standing here is going to make your face contort like that, I’ll just leave. There’s someone I have to talk to anyways.” 

I leave the four of them and march down the stairs and head straight for the snack table. I cool off with some punch and scan the room for The Ghost. It takes awhile to find him, but I eventually spot him lurking in the shadows behind a group of girls. I make eye contact with him and motion him over to me. He saunters over and eventually reaches me. “What are you doing?” I exclaim. 

“What are you doing?” he returns. 

“I asked you first. You should be having fun with Taryn, not lurking creepily behind some girls,” I scold. 

“And you should be making friends, not flirting with Cardan-”

“I was not flirting.” 

“Tell that to Cardan’s angry, jealous face,” The Ghost says with raised eyebrows. 

I look over at Cardan. He’s staring directly at me and The Ghost with rage in his eyes. “That’s the look he always gives me,” I explain. “What were you doing by those girls anyways?” 

“Working!” he blurts out. “Those girls didn’t even realize I was standing there. I came in and out- like a ghost.” 

“Ha ha,” I say sarcastically. “Very clever.” 

“Laugh all you want, but I found out that Samantha is having an affair with Mr. Penope,” he says with a smug expression. 

“No way,” I laugh. 

“It’s true. It wasn’t even on our radar, so good work getting us into this party. Make sure to get invited to the next,” he tells me. 

I refill my cup with punch and look up to respond, but he is gone. “He got me again!” 

“Who did?” a stranger says from my side. 

I turn to see Jameson Samuels- starting quarterback, and person on Dain’s ‘get to know’ list- smile warmly at me. “No one,” I say back with a smile. “Want some punch?” 

“Sure,” he holds out his cup and I fill it. “I didn’t know you and Cardan were friends.” 

“Oh um. We aren’t really,” I stammer, “or I guess we are. It’s-”

“Complicated?” he suggests. 

“Exactly,” I say with a sigh. 

He invites me over to his table with some other cool jocks and cheerleaders. It’s where I spend most of the night: laughing, dancing, drinking, and building relationships like I was instructed to do. 

Before I knew it, it was after midnight and most of the party had cleared out. I was about to leave when Nicasia suggested that the remaining people play a fun game of spin the bottle. I wasn’t going to play, but The Ghost gave me a motion telling me to do so. 

“Now,” Nicasia said with a smirk as I sat down in the circle. “This isn’t a normal game where you just get a peck. Everybody spins, gets a partner, and then gets a classroom with them. You can do as little or as much with them.” 

She sets the bottle down and I look across the circle to see Cardan. He lays back against a couch with two different girls kissing and sucking on his neck; however, he pays no attention to them, he only stares at me with his black eyes. 

I shudder at his gaze as Nicasia spins the bottle to see who will go first. To her delight, and my dismay it points to me. “Okay, Jude, spin the bottle. Unless you’re too much of a prude,” she spews. 

I stretch to the center and give the bottle a good spin and pray that it doesn’t land on the beautiful boy across from me. It whirls quickly around and around until it slows and points directly at Cardan. I’m not sure what to do. I sit stunned and so does the rest of the circle. Nicasia glares at me with an accusing eye as Cardan rises. 

He walks across the circle, faltering a little and then reaches his hand down to mine. I take it cautiously and stand up. The girls he was with shoot daggers in my direction, and The Ghost observes us cooly. 

Cardan leads us out of faerie land and into the chemistry classroom. “We aren’t actually going to do this right?” I ask. 

“Of course not,” he replies as if the question was stupid. “We’ll sit in here for about 10 minutes, and then go back in.” 

I sigh in relief and take a seat on one of the many high top desks in the room. Cardan sinks into a chair and faces me. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation earlier,” he states. 

“Is there really a need to?” I return. 

“Well, I have an answer now,” he says playfully. “So, ask me your question.” 

“Okay, fine. Prince Cardan, why did you invite me to your party?” I ask. 

“I have absolutely no idea.” 

I scoff. “That’s your answer-”

“But I do know,” he cuts me off. “I do know that I didn’t want you to come with a date.” 

“I didn’t come with a date,” I correct, rolling my eyes. 

“Then who’s that guy you came with and then spent your time with. I didn’t invite him,” he raises an eyebrow at me. 

“He’s just a friend,” I shoot back at him. “Besides, why does it matter if I brought a date? It’s not like you want to date me. Hell, Cardan, you really wanted me on Wednesday, but then we kissed and you ignored me for a complete day. Now, you’re sitting across a room from me when we’re supposed to be making out or whatever.” 

I stand up and walk over to him. “What is it, Cardan? Do you want me or not?” 

He stiffens as I get closer to him. “I- I don’t want you,” he says in a strained voice. 

“You just lied to me, Cardan,” I put my legs on either side of him and lower myself onto his lap, so we’re eyelevel. “Do you want to know how I know?” 

He can’t reply, he only stares at me with ragged breaths. I tap his right eyebrow. “This eyebrow raises ever so slightly whenever you tell a lie. Do it again,” I beg. “Tell me that you don’t want me to kiss you right now.” 

“I don’t want you to kiss me right now,” he whispers as I watch his eyebrow twitch. 

I shake my head. “Lies again.” 

I raise myself slightly and slowly bring my lips to his. He moves his head back, so I grab his face and pull it down to mine forcefully. Our lips crash together with passion and lust. He lets out a groan as he gives himself up to me. 

Cardan wraps his arms around me and stands. I’m lifted off the ground to be slammed onto one of the desks. My legs wrap around him as he takes complete control from me. He deepens the kiss and runs his hands down my body. His touch is electric and lights a trail all over me. I run my hands through his hair, tugging and pulling. His crown clatters to the ground- startling both of us. 

He returns his attention to me with hunger in his eyes. He looks me up and down. “Damn. You’re so beautiful. Especially with these badass horns.”

I blush under his gaze and kiss him again, but he pulls away. 

“Tell me you hate me,” he forces out. 

I hesitate and try to pull him back down to me. 

“Right now,” he demands. 

“I hate you.” 

He groans and immediately kisses me again with force. He removes his lips from me again. “Say it again.” 

“I hate you.” 

He brings his lips to my neck as I continue to chant I hate you. He kisses, sucks, and bites at my neck and I involuntarily shutter at his touch. I can feel his smirk against my neck at my reaction to me. It infuriates me at how good he is at this. I’m so inexperienced, and he’s probably done this hundreds of times. 

He’s probably done this hundreds of times. 

It hits me as Cardan begins to raise his lips back up to mine. I’m with Cardan Greenbriar right now. I’m making a horrible mistake. He doesn’t want me. He wants my body.

“Stop,” I gasp out. “Stop.” 

Cardan stops immediately and takes a step back. I sit up and catch my breath. I look at Cardan, and worry can be found in his eyes. “Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?” he asks, his voice full of concern. “Cause if I did-”

“No, Cardan,” I cut him off. “It’s not you. I just… I can’t do this. Not with you, not now.” 

I get off the table and walk quickly to the door. I glance back at Cardan. He whispers with hurt in his eyes, “Jude, please.” 

But I leave him and rush to the safety of my bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo that was spicy. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the party chapter, there’s going to be a lot more parties most likely. And I hope you liked the Jurdan. 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and I LOVE reading your comments. They all make me smile. 
> 
> Stay safe!


	8. Chapter 8

I avoid everyone and everything the rest of the weekend. I only leave my dorm room early in the morning to go for a run Sunday morning to clear my head. The rest of the time is spent watching Netflix, reading, and eating popcorn. I try and try to forget what I did with Cardan. 

It doesn’t work. 

When Monday morning rolls around, I’ve accepted that I am physically attracted to Cardan Greenbriar. Who isn’t? He’s the most beautiful person you’ll ever see. 

But that’s where it stops. There is nothing there other than physical attraction. 

Anyone would have made out with him, I convince myself. I’m just proud that I stopped him and myself from doing anything else we would have regretted. 

With my head held high, I march into school and take my seat next to The Ghost. “Hey what happened to you this weekend?” he asks me. 

“Nothing,” I reply as Cardan brushes past my desk with a concerned glance. “I just needed some time to clear my head and relax.” 

The Ghost nods with understanding. “So?” he asks with a curious smile. 

“So what?” 

“Did you and Cardan? You know-”

I cut him off immediately. “Absolutely not,” I lie straight through my teeth. “Cardan and I did nothing.” 

I glance over to a disheveled Cardan. He’s looking back at me with worry in his eyes. “I need to talk to you,” he mouths to me, but I look away like I didn’t notice. 

“Okay,” The Ghost continues with a sigh. “It was just strange. Cardan returned to the party, but you didn’t. And Cardan was acting very strange.” 

“Strange?” I ask mildly, not to seem too curious. 

“Yeah. He stopped drinking, he turned down anyone who wanted a kiss, and to Locke’s dismay, he shut down the party early.”

“That is strange,” I reply as Mr. Scott stands up and begins his lecture. 

Like normal, The Ghost disappears immediately after class, and because I’m never prepared to leave, I’m stuck with Cardan. “Hey,” he says to me. 

“Hey.” 

We walk out of the room and down the hall side by side. “I really need to talk to you, Jude,” he blurts out as we stop in front of the art room. 

I look into his eyes and see a sadness that wasn’t there before. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Cardan.” 

“Please,” he breathes out. 

“Okay,” I respond. “We’ll talk at the end of the day, after fencing.” 

He nods and lets out a sigh of relief and his usually smirk returns to his face, “I knew that you couldn’t say no to me.” 

Cardan starts to walk in the room, but I grab his arm. “Wait- just for that comment, we’ll talk after school if, and only if, you beat me in fencing.” 

It’s my turn to smirk at him. Panic floods his eyes, I am a much better swordsman than him, but it soon turns into determination. “Fine, we have a deal.” 

We walk into the classroom and take out respective seats. English is relatively normal, if you count normal as Cardan telling you that he’s going to beat you every five minutes. 

I’m grateful that fourth hour eventually arrives. Cardan leaves me with an ominous, yet playful ‘until later’ and we head in different directions.

The Roach is waiting for me when I arrive in our basement classroom. “So, how did the party go?” he asks me. 

“Didn’t The Ghost already give you a rundown?”

“He gave me his findings from the party, now I need yours,” he responds like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Well, I wasn’t doing any spy work like The Ghost, but I did make some new friends,” I reply. 

He lets out a humph. 

“What?” I ask in a mock offended tone. “Do you not believe me? How could you not? I’m one of the nicest, easiest to get along with, girls you’ll ever meet. A complete social butterfly.” 

He lets out another humph. 

I roll my eyes. “I’m being serious. I made friends with Jameson Samuels, Julius Jones, and Luna Jacobson.” 

The Roach sees that I’m being serious and his face changes to become mildly impressed. “Well, Jude, I can’t say that I’m not surprised, but Dain picked you for a reason.” 

“Wow,” I reply sarcastically. “Don’t look now, but you almost gave me a compliment.” 

He turns around to face his computer. “Oh, and I’m going to let Dain know about Samantha and Mr. Penope. He’ll get it shut down.” 

“Wait a minute- we can’t let him shut that down yet,” I exclaim. 

The Roach turns to me with concern. “And why is that?” 

“Because,” I sigh with annoyance. “If that closely guarded secret gets let out, those kids are going to start pointing fingers and asking questions. Who was an outsider last night? And who brought a date when she apparently wasn’t supposed to?”

I raise my hand to answer both of my questions. “They’ll know I snitched, and I won’t be invited back.” 

“I guess you’re right,” he turns around. 

“Told you she was smart,” The Ghost yells over from his station. He turns around and faces me with a questioning look. “I do want to come back to this whole date thing though.”

I brush him off. “It’s not a whole thing, I’m just frustrated with Cardan is all.” 

He turns back around with raised eyebrows, and The Bomb begins to teach me how to work the surveillance station. 

Like normal, the four of us head to lunch, but this time I’m the one disappearing. Jameson beckons me over to his table, and The Roach basically forces me to go. 

To my surprise, I have fun sitting with Jameson and his boyfriend, Kyle. They’re just as nice and fun as they were at the party Friday night. By the end of lunch, everyone at the table is adjusted to my presence, and, somehow, I fit in. 

Cardan is wearing his red fencing uniform when I arrive in the gym for my final hour. “Is this really necessary?” I ask, motioning to him with my sabre. 

“Of course,” he replies. “I would appreciate it if you took this seriously, Jude. I’m the red knight, and you’re the white knight. According to legends, one of us must kill each other.”

I roll my eyes and pull my mask over my face. “You don’t need to be so dramatic. Those legends don’t exist, you completely made that up.”

“Maybe,” he says with a smirk, and pulls his own mask down. “However, I am going to kick your ass.” 

He swings on me quickly causing me to react by jumping back. He swings again; we forget all the rules involved with fencing, and start an all out battle. Every attack and parry is met with the same ferocity and determination. 

I’ve never fought against Cardan when he’s trying this hard. Usually he is lazy and easy to read, but today he’s unpredictable, and everything I thought I knew about his fighting style vanishes. 

The class stops and watches us as we attempt to gain ground on each other. I manage to push him back to the bleachers where I know I can trap him. Instead of falling back on the bleachers like I expected, he turns and runs up them. I chase after him, wanting to catch him at the top. 

He reaches the top row first and stops me from going up any further. With the higher ground, he manages to gain an edge on me. He takes the advantage and attacks nonstop. I begin to lose my balance and start to fall back. To my surprise, Cardan instantly shoots his hand out and grabs onto mine, stopping me from tumbling down the bleachers. 

“Thanks,” I breathe out. 

“Don’t thank me, yet,” he says and thrusts his sabre into my chest. 

“Damn you,” is all I say. I let go of Cardan’s hand and march down the bleachers, fuming at my loss. 

Cardan does a little bow for the rest of the class and the sleeping teacher as I march into the locker room and throw my stuff down. 

I change back into my school uniform and lay on a bench to relieve the fight in my head and figure out where I made mistakes. 

A little while later, the door opens to the locker room and a familiar scent wafts its way to me. 

“Losing to me can’t be that bad.” 

I sit up to see Cardan sitting on my bench facing me. “Trust me,” I shift to face him. “It’s worse.” 

“Well,” he says with a smirk. “I believe you owe me a talk.” 

“I believe I do,” I reply quickly. “What do you want to talk about?”

Cardan looks at his hands and twists them around. When he looks back up, his mask is gone and the anxious face from this morning is back. I take his hands in mine and intertwine them. “You can talk to me, Cardan.” 

He lets out a deep breath. “I just- I just wanted to apologize for any pain that I caused you Friday night. I’m sorry if I pressured you in anyway or forced you to do something you didn’t want to. I was really worried that I hurt you, and then you didn’t answer your phone. I-”

“Cardan,” I say quietly, cutting him off. “You didn’t hurt me in any way.” 

“Then why did you run away?” he asks softly. 

“I ran, not because I didn’t want it to happen, but because I did want it to happen,” I admit to him. 

“Oh.” 

It’s my turn to look down. 

“Does this mean that you want to date or something?” he asks with a sliver of hope in his voice. 

“I don’t think so,” I reply. 

“Why?” 

“I don’t like you in that way, Cardan,” I keep my voice gentle. 

“Then why did you kiss me?” he asks, anger creeping in his voice. 

“Well, you see,” I can feel myself blush. “I am- er- physically attracted to you. So, I just needed to get it out of my system. So, we could both get it out of our system.”

He nods sternly. 

“And did you?” he asks stiffly. “Get it- me- out of your system.” 

“Yes,” I lie. “And did you get me out of your system?” 

He leans across the bench and kisses me softly before pulling away. 

“Now I did,” he whispers, but his right eyebrow twitches so quickly that I hardly see it. 

I let go of his hands and suddenly felt a bit colder than I did before. “Lets just be friends,” I suggest warmly. “We can surely do that.” 

“You’re right. We can be friends,” Cardan says. His face returns to his classic smirk. “That is if you don’t sit on my lap and force me to kiss you again.” 

We both stand up and walk to the door. “You wanted to and you know it. Besides, you forced me to kiss you first to get my mother's journal back.” 

“You wanted to and you know it,” is all he says and we make our exit from each other. 

Friends. 

We can just be friends. It’ll be great. I repeat over and over, trying to convince myself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright alright 
> 
> I hope you’re all enjoying the story so far! Jude’s kinda being stupid, but she’ll probably figure it out.
> 
> Thanks for reading and dropping kudos and comments.
> 
> Stay safe <3


	9. Chapter 9

That night Vivienne and I went out to dinner at The Furry Taco. “So, why couldn’t Taryn come?” she asks me as we take a seat in our favorite booth. 

I roll my eyes and take a bite of queso. “She had plans with Locke.” 

“Locke, as in Cardan’s best friend, Locke?” she raises her eyebrows in surprise. 

“Yeah, they’re dating and apparently in love.” 

“Hmmm,” she thinks on it for a minute. “I never had any problems with him, but you don’t seem to be happy about it.” 

“Well,” I sigh. “I would’ve been happy for her, I mean Locke was always nicer to us than the others, but he made her keep it a secret for a month, and then he pursued me.”

“Like romantically?” she asks with worry. 

“Yes, it’s disgusting,” I shudder. “And Taryn doesn’t think that there’s anything wrong with his actions or their relationship. She’s completely brainwashed.” 

“Or in love,” Viv suggests. “Trust me, I know, love makes you do things you never thought you would.” 

“I hope I never find out,” I mumble quietly. 

“Trust me, Jude, you will,” she chuckles to herself. “Hell, you’ll probably end up doing the craziest, most unimaginable things for the person you fall in love with.” 

I roll my eyes and shake my head. When I fall in love, I’m not going to change anything about myself. I don’t want to give anybody power over me. Being tied to someone like that sounds like the worst thing possible. 

“So,” I ask Vivienne with a cocked eyebrow. “What crazy thing have you done for love?” 

Her smile grows across her face and she looks at her hands. “That’s why I wanted to have dinner. To tell you before you got the invite tonight.” 

“Invite for what?” 

“Heather and I are moving in together!” she blurts out with enthusiasm. 

My mouth hangs open in surprise, but I shit it to a wide smile. “Oh my goodness! Vivienne, that’s amazing news! I’m so happy for you!” 

She continues to smile and her voice rings with joyfulness. “We’re having a housewarming, well, apartment warming party Saturday night, and it would mean the world to me if you and Taryn would be there to meet Heather.” 

“Of course we’ll be there!” I promise. 

“Thank you,” she grabs my hand from across the table. “Madoc’s pissed, but Heather makes me too happy. See, love makes you do crazy things.” 

I shrug. 

“Speaking of love,” she says through a bite of her taco. “Any romantic happenings in Jude’s life?” 

My eyes widen with fear, and I drop my head to the table. She’s asking me about the one thing I was hoping to avoid, and I can’t lie to Vivienne. “I’m really stupid,” I groan to the floor.

“Ohhhhh,” she coos with excitement in her voice. “You have to tell me.” 

“I can’t.” 

“Jude Duarte,” she demands. “You better tell me right now, or so help me, I will end your entire life.” 

I lift up my head with defeat. “Fine, I fucked up, bad.” 

She’s waiting for more. 

“I- I made out with Cardan.” 

She is completely stunned and her mouth hangs open. 

“Twice,” I add quietly. 

“Noooo, noooo fucking way,” she drops her taco and hangs her head back to laugh. “Holy shit. I was right. He’s sooo into you. Wait- oh my gosh- you’re into him too. Jude, I cannot believe this. A week ago he was the devil on earth, now you’re making out with him. This is too golden-”

“Vivienne,” I cut off her rambling. “We are not into each other.” 

“Yes, you are.” 

“No, we aren’t,” I press. “We talked about it today. It was a one- two time thing. We were physically attracted to each other, so we need to do it to get it out of our system.” 

“You kissed him twice!” she exclaims with major hand motions.

“Technically three times,” I correct softly. 

“Jude!”

“Today doesn’t count though. He just needed one more. I guess,” I tell her with a shrug.

“It happened today?” she asks, still in awe. 

“Yeah, during our talk.” 

She laughs again and claps her hands, drawing attention to us. “This is too much. When were the other times?” 

“Well, the first time happened during school after he threw me in the pool-”

“He threw you in the pool?”

“Yeah, but that’s not important. He apologized,” I explain swiftly. “The second happened Friday night at his birthday party. We got matched up during spin the bottle and things got carried away in the Chem classroom.” 

“In the Chem classroom?”

“Yes,” I reply promptly. “Are you just going to keep asking stupid questions?” 

She shrugs her shoulders. 

“So, now it’s out of our system and we’ve decided to just be friends.” 

“Just be friends?”

“Another stupid question!” I complain. 

“I just don’t think you and Cardan can be friends,” she says nonchalantly. 

“And why is that?” I scrape out the last of the queso with a broken chip.

“Well,” she begins. “You claim that you ‘got it out of your system,’ but when people do that, they only hook up once, not three times.” 

I begin to protest, but she raises her hand up to silence me. 

“I think you’re playing a dangerous game here, Jude. You just need to suck it up and admit that you have feelings for each other. Trust me, you have a bond together that isn’t going away by deciding that you should just be friends. You’ve kissed him three separate times, people don’t do that when they don’t want to be with one another. 

“Jude, you seem to be the only one who doesn’t see what is really going on here. I know it, Cardan knows it. You two are either going to end up being beautiful, or go down in flames. Right now, the way this is going, I’m leaning towards the latter, and I don’t want to see you burned.” 

The next day goes by in a blur. Before I know it, I’m in my dorm room watching Netflix and avoiding homework. Everything had been normal enough, Cardan and I kept a respectable distance, but we did catch each other staring a couple times. The Ghost attempted to teach me how to sly foot, but we both learn, with frustration, that I’m not very good at being quiet. 

I’m about to look at my calculus homework when I get a phone call from an unknown number. “Hello?” I’m expecting a scam. 

“Jude, darling, I’m outside Insmire Hall. I’ll be in your dorm room shortly,” a smug voice says quickly. 

“Cardan?” I exclaim, panic rising inside of me. 

He hangs up the phone. I jump out of my bed and look at the mess of my dorm room. Dirty clothes and trash cover the floor. I gather the clothes quickly in my arms and throw them into my arms. Then I pick the trash up and shove it into the already overflowing trash can. I’m pulling my comforter over my bed when a light knock appears at my door. I turn around to see Cardan walking in with a smirk. “You should really lock your door.” 

“Well, you should really learn to not come to people’s dorms when you weren’t invited,” I pull my hair back in a ponytail. 

He examines my room and shrugs. “We need to work on our English project, we have made absolutely no progress.” 

“And whose fault is that?” 

“I told you I was sorry.” He examines the various band posters on my wall. “I didn’t know that you were so into 80s rock.” 

“Yeah, I get it from my mom,” I take a seat on my bed and face him. “She loved bands like Def Leppard and Guns n’ Roses.” 

He nods and sits down at my desk. “Okay,” he says while pulling out The Feminine Mystique from his bag. “I guess that the first step is to read the book- together.” 

I grab my copy from my bookshelf as he starts reading. We take turns reading pages, but I prefer it when he reads. His voice is silky smooth, a voice you could listen to for hours. 

Eventually, we realize that we have been reading for hours, and we’re absolutely starving. My stomach grumbles and I go to the fridge to grab a burrito to warm up. “What are you doing?” Cardan asks me. 

“Getting some dinner,” it seemed obvious to me. “I’m starving.” 

He slides his phone in his pocket. “I just ordered us some dinner, it’ll be here in like half an hour.” 

I put the burrito back and roll my eyes. “You’re so extra and why is there an us in this. You can go now. We read a few chapters; I’d call that good for tonight, besides, I have calculus homework I need to do.”

“Great, I can help you,” he says with a grin. “I’m already done with it.”

“Of course you are,” I’m annoyed, but I’ll never turn down help when it comes to math. I pull out the assignment from my backpack and slide my other chair up to the desk. 

He helps me through it, and I’m finished in half the time it would’ve taken me alone. “You should sit next to me during calc instead of that nobody.” 

“Hey, that nobody is a good friend of mine,” I scoot away from him. “And if I sat next to you, I would be more distracted.” 

He’s about to reply, but a knock comes from the door. I answer it and take the bag of food from the delivery guy. “Cardan, I need a tip!” I call back to him, but he’s already standing right behind me handing the guy a twenty. 

I close the door and inspect the food Cardan ordered. It’s chinese and Cardan takes it from my hands and places it in the middle of the floor on my rug. He sits down on the floor and starts to take out the different cartons of food. I sit across from him and snatch an egg roll. “This is quite the spread you got here.” 

He takes a bite of orange chicken and shrugs. “I like Chinese food.” 

I dig into some shrimp and we eat in an awkward silence. After a couple of minutes, Cardan breaks the quiet. “Let’s play questions.” 

“And that is?”

“One person asks a question and the other person must answer truthfully,” he explains and I nod my head in understanding. “You go first.” 

“Okay… what’s your favorite color?” I ask warily.

“Is that the best you got?” he laughs and looks down at his all black outfit. “Obviously black… What’s your favorite food?” 

“Tacos. What’s your favorite pastime?”

“Drinking wine. Do you like going to school here?” 

“Sometimes. How did you know where my dorm room was?” 

“I looked it up in the school database. Why only sometimes?” 

“The people haven’t always been nice,” I say with a pointed look. “Why did you come here tonight?”

“To study… Also it’s my real birthday today and I wanted to be with a friend. Do you like living with Madoc?”

“I like throwing daggers with Madoc. Who is your favorite sibling?”

“I hate all of them,” he says with a dark look. “Why are you mad at Taryn?”

“She’s dating Locke. Who is your least favorite sibling?”

“Balekin,” he says instantly. “Do you want to be with Locke?” 

“Absolutely not. Locke is a despicable human being,” I can see relief cover his eyes when I answer. “Why did you torture me for so many years?” 

He sighs and looks around the room. “You had a family that loved and accepted you,” his face cracks and I can see the pained, neglected boy that lies within. It’s there for a split second before he locks his sights on something. “What is that?” 

I turn around and see the one thing I’d hoped he wouldn’t. I’m about to say nothing, but he grabs it before I get a chance. It’s a little black box with a ribbon tied around it. “To: Cardan. From: Jude,” he reads. 

I droop my head in embarrassment. “It’s your birthday present.”

His eyes widen with surprise. 

“I brought it to your party, but nobody else had brought you a gift, so I just assumed that we weren’t supposed to bring anything,” I explain to him. “It’s really nothing special. I found it at an old boutique, you’ll probably hate it.”

He opens the box without a word and takes out a golden necklace with a three dimensional crown looped at the bottom. “You’re just always making jokes about being a prince, and when I saw it I immediately thought of you,” I ramble. “I still have the receipts if you want to return it. You probably got much nicer things-“

He examines it closely and then embraces me suddenly, shutting me up. He hangs onto me tightly and I wrap my arms to hold him back. 

Cardan pulls away slowly and continues to look at the necklace. He puts it around his neck and his black eyes look into mine. “Nobody has ever gotten me a more perfect gift. Hell, I can’t remember the last time somebody truly got me a birthday present that wasn’t a gift card. Thank you,” he breathes out. 

“It’s- it’s really no problem,” I blush and look at the floor. I stand up and walk to my closet. “Do you mind if I put on something more comfortable? I really need to get out of this uniform.” 

He nods his head and begins to pick up the trash from dinner. I grab my clothes and change in the bathroom. I put on a pair of shorts, an oversized t-shirt, and free my mess of hair. When I come out, Cardan’s sitting on my bed and he slowly looks me up and down. “Damn, Jude.” 

“Cardan, you can’t do that,” I complain. 

“Do what?” 

“Look and talk to me like that,” I take a seat on the floor as he lounges on my bed. “We’re just friends. From now on, before you do or say something to me, think to yourself and decide if you would say it to Locke. If you would, say it. If you wouldn’t don’t say it.” 

He rolls his eyes and smirks. “For the record, I probably would’ve said that to Locke if he ever looked that hot.” 

“Cardan,” I scold. 

“I would’ve,” he says innocently. 

“Ask me another question,” I suggest, changing the subject. 

“What’s your favorite movie?” 

“The Breakfast Club,” I tell him. 

“I’ve never seen it,” he says nonchalantly. 

“What?” I exclaim. “That is a crime.”

“Okay… Well, this is an easy fix. Lets just watch it.” 

“Cardan, we only have an hour and a half until curfew. You should probably go back to your room.”

He rolls his eyes. “Curfew? Please. Who do you think you’re talking to?” he takes out his phone and makes a quick text. “Don’t worry, curfew won’t be a problem for us tonight.” 

I’m still apprehensive, but he’s grinning at me like a fool, so I give in. “Fine, but only because it’s your birthday.” 

I turn my TV on and he moves to one side of my bed and pats the empty space under the crook of his arm. I raise an accusing eyebrow at him. 

“What?” he exclaims innocently. “I would be doing this with Locke. You’ve seen me with my friends, we have no sense of personal boundaries.” 

He’s right. They’re always draped over each other, so I lay down next to him as the movie begins. He pulls me in to him slightly, and I decide that it’s okay if I lay my arm across his chest. 

“FYI,” he whispers to me. “We’re watching my favorite movie after that.”

“And that is?”

“The Princess Bride,” he says in a monotone voice. 

I let out a surprised laugh. “Are you serious?” 

“What? Not dark and brooding enough for you?” he asks. 

“Not in the slightest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayyyyy is this chapter was longer than I expected it to be. So love that for me and my sleep schedule. 
> 
> Anyways... we’ve got Vivienne spitting facts and some cute Jurdan moments. Jude just really needs to give in to it. 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter! I always read and appreciate your comments. Thanks fore the kudos and for some reason making it this far in the fic... I’ve got a lot more planned for these two.
> 
> Stay safe <3


	10. Chapter 10

I slowly wake up and take a deep breath in. 

Charcoal and Cranberries. 

Why do I smell charcoal and cranberries? 

I immediately open my eyes and see a sleeping Cardan next to me. I sit straight up in bed. We must’ve fallen asleep sometime during The Princess Bride. Cardan rustles next to me and murmurs, “come back, it’s cold.” 

He grabs a hold of me and lays me down. He wraps his arms around me from behind and holds me against him. I lean in to him until I see my alarm clock. I shoot out of my bed. “Fuck! Cardan, we’re thirty minutes late to class!”

I rush to my closet and pull out my uniform from yesterday. I toss him an extra shirt, blazer, and tie. “These should fit well enough for you.” 

He slowly sits up in bed as I scramble around my room, changing and gathering my school supplies. “Can we just skip class?” he groans. 

“Absolutely not.”

“You’re such a killjoy,” he whines, but he begins to get dressed. The shirt is much too tight and the blazer’s sleeves are too short, but he rolls them up and tucks the shirt in and looks halfway decent. 

“Okay,” I say rushing out of the room. “Lets go.” 

He grabs his backpack from the floor and walks slowly out of the room. “Can you please hurry up?” I demand. 

“Calm down, Jude,” he smirks at me. “It can’t be your first time being late, is it?” 

It is, but he doesn’t need to know that. I grab his arm and pull him to keep up with my pace. We exit my dormitory and cut through the schoolyard to get to Elfame Hall. I keep tugging on Cardan’s arm. “Hurry up! Why aren’t you cooperating?” I complain. 

“Oh, Jude, you really haven’t done this before,” he stops me at the door to the Hall. “If we go in together, at the same exact time, rumors are going to spread like wildfire.” 

“Not necessarily,” I say quietly to the ground. 

“Fine,” he shrugs with a wicked grin. “With our sleepy looks, rundown uniforms, and your mess of hair, I’m sure no one will think that we slept together last night… Unless, of course, you want people to think that?” 

I push him away and sigh in annoyance. “You’re right. I’ll go in and you come in a few minutes?”

“That won’t be good enough,” he turns to walk away. “I’ll go get some breakfast at a cafe and make my appearance sometime next hour. It will seem totally unrelated.” 

I nod my head and walk into the building with vigor. I rush upstairs and enter calculus slowly and quiet- hoping to not drag too much attention to me. I’m unlucky. 

The entire class was already silent and working on their assignment. When I walk in, they all turn to look at the door. “Do you have a tardy slip?” Mr. Scott grumbles from his desk. 

“No, sir.” 

“All right, I’ll tell the administration. Take your seat.” 

I slide in next to The Ghost and glance around the room; Locke glares at me with confusion, but I ignore him. “Why were you late?” The Ghost whispers at my side. 

“My alarm didn’t go off,” I explain. 

“Cardan hasn’t shown up either,” he tells me. 

I look up to Cardan’s desk with mock interest. “That’s weird. I wonder where he is.” 

He seems suspicious with my response and story, but if he has questions, he doesn’t ask them. Instead, he decides to explain the assignment that we’re working on. 

I’m tense during second hour. I keep waiting for Cardan’s smug face to waltz in the door, but it’s taking longer than I expected. Eventually, he does come through the door, very sloppily. Our teacher glances at him before sending an email to the administration with a disapproving shake of her head.

He wears dark sunglasses and sways as he walks to his seat next to Nicasia. “Where were you last night and this morning?” I can hear her hiss at him. 

“I can’t remember,” he slurs out, not trying to keep his voice quiet. “I opened a bottle of merlot last night and then another and then another. That’s all I remember.” 

“Humph,” she turns her nose up and begins to work on her drawing again. 

He tilts his sunglasses at me and winks quickly. 

When the bell rings, I wait for Cardan by the door. “Hey, how was breakfast?” I ask him as my stomach rumbles. 

“Oh yeah,” he remembers. “I got you a muffin and this coffee.” 

He digs out a chocolate chip muffin from his bag and hands me the coffee he was holding. “Thanks,” I smile at the kind gesture and we make our way out into the hallway. 

Cardan sways as we walk to English and even bumps into a couple of kids to really sell it. “You’re really good at that,” I remark as we take our seats in Mrs. Shannon’s room. 

“What?” he asks. 

“Pretending to be completely wasted,” I tell him. “If I didn’t know any better, I would believe that you had been drinking all night.” 

He pretends to tip a hat. “Stick around, Jude, maybe you’ll learn some of my other talents.” 

Cardan slides back into his chair with his arms crossed, pretending to nap, while I nibble on my muffin and enjoy the coffee he brought me. 

After class, I say a quick goodbye to Cardan and make my way to the basement. I’m the last to arrive and they’re all hard at work with whatever it is they do. “What’s my lesson for today?” I ask with excitement. “Being quiet with The Ghost, putting chemicals together with The Bomb, being grumpy and mean with The Roach? Whatever it is, I’m game.”

“No lesson today,” The Roach grumbles from across the room. “We’re actually working on the Gazette today, and you have to write a story about the Greenbriar family.” 

“Do I have to?” I take a seat in my spot with a huff. 

“Yes, it sucks, but we have to do it if we want to stay legitimate,” The Bomb says. 

I sigh, but I begin my article with the resources The Ghost gave me. We all work quietly and the hour passes by slowly. I’m so sick of seeing the name Greenbriar by the time lunch rolls around, it makes me want to puke at the sight of it. 

Jameson waves me over to his table again when I enter the cafeteria, but before I go over to him I turn to The Bomb and The Roach. “There’s a party at my sisters apartment Saturday night, and you’re all invited. It’ll be good for us to hang outside of the basement.”

“Sounds like fun,” The Bomb says. “We’ll be there,” she glances at The Roach’s face, “We’ll all be there.” 

“Awesome,” I smile and start to walk away. “I’ll text you the details, and I’ll let The Ghost know.” 

Later that evening, The Ghost and I are chilling in my dorm room working on the rest of the calculus homework. “What did you and Cardan do last night?” The Ghost asks as soon as we finish our homework. 

“What are you talking about? Cardan and I didn’t hang out last night,” I try to sound convincing. 

“Jude,” he says with a sigh. “I’m a literal human lie detector. I know that you two spent the night together or whatever. I’m fine with you two being close, but The Shadows don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“Why do you think we saw each other last night?” I ask. 

“Well, you two were both late this morning, which is an odd coincidence, especially considering how close you two have gotten. Both of you looked very disorderly when you did arrive. And, for some reason, he brought you a coffee and a muffin when he showed up; I find that very odd for a supposedly drunk person to do,” he explains with a smug face. 

“How did you even know about the coffee?” I ask in shock. 

He simply shrugs his shoulders. 

“Trust me, G, we weren’t together last night, and why am I supposed to know anything about Cardan’s inner-workings? Drunk or not, he makes strange decisions about coffee and whatnot. It was just a continued peace offering,” I try and convince him. 

“Surrrre,” he nods his head slowly. 

“Why are you so tense?” I ask. “I can’t wait for the party Saturday night, so you can let loose for once.” 

“I am not going to that party, Jude,” The Ghost insists.

“Why not? It’ll be fun, and Taryn will be there,” I say with a playful tone while I turn on some chill music.

He’s sitting on my floor in front of my desk facing me on my bed. The Ghost rolls his eyes and bangs his head on the desk. 

“What?” I exclaim. “Have you given up on love?” 

He looks at me and grumbles, “yes. Cardan’s party was a complete disaster. We didn’t even have a full conversation.” 

It’s my turn to roll my eyes. “That’s because she was pissed at me, and you had to do that stupid spy stuff. Saturday will be different,” I promise. 

“How so?” he asks, still skeptical. 

“Well, one, you won’t have to spy because it’ll mostly be a bunch of people from Vivienne’s college. And, two, you can approach Taryn at the party without me close by, so she won’t associate you with me. We’re not exactly talking…” 

He still looks unconvinced. 

“Besides,” I say merrily, “I know all there is to know about Taryn, so I can give you all the tips and tricks you need to get into her heart.” 

A soft knock comes from my door and I go to answer it. When I open the door, Cardan is standing right there and he walks right in. “Sorry, Jude,” he says. “I would have texted you that I’m coming by, but I left my phone here last night-” 

He sees The Ghost sitting on the floor and he tenses up. The Ghost simply smirks at me with a look that says, ‘I was right.’

Cardan seems uncomfortable, so I try to ease the tension. “Cardan, I don’t think that you’ve met my good friend, Garrett before.”

The Ghost stands up and holds his hand out to Cardan. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he says with a friendly accent. 

“Yeah,” Cardan says while taking his hand stiffly. “Nice to meet you too.” 

The Ghost sits in my desk chair and I pull Cardan over to my bed. “What is he doing here?” he grumbles to me almost silently. 

“Where do you think you left your phone?” I ask him, completely ignoring his obnoxious question. 

He’s annoyed, but he lifts up my pillow and pulls out his phone while The Ghost watches, still smirking at me. Cardan begins to leave, but I call out to him. “Cardan,” I say, trying to ease his tension. “Why don’t you hang out with me and Garrett? I was just giving him advice on how he should seduce Taryn. Maybe you have some input?” 

The Ghost raises his eyebrows in surprise at my invitation, but doesn’t seem too fazed. 

“Taryn?” Cardan asks with a small amount of relief in his eyes. . 

“Yep, Garrett has the world's largest crush on her,” I explain while I lean back against the wall on my bed. 

Cardan eyes The Ghost suspiciously, but he turns around and sits next to me on my bed, placing his arm possessively around my waist. 

The three of us have a fun evening once Cardan warms up to The Ghost. We laugh and talk and have a good time. I kick both of them out at 8:30, not wanting to risk the same situation as this morning. 

That night it’s hard to fall asleep, I feel colder and incomplete without Cardan holding me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you liked this sort of in-between-type chapter I guess. The next chapter will be Vivienne’s party. So yay! More party time! Also Heather will be there and I love her.
> 
> Anyways... we have a jealous Cardan and kind of clueless/stupid/what are you even doing- love him already Jude. So love that. 
> 
> Thanks for reading this story, I’m just glad someone likes it. Thanks for the kudos and I absolutely adore all the comments I get. I always read them and take your suggestions into account. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	11. Chapter 11

“Is this enough chips?” I hold up five grocery bags filled with various bags of chips. 

Vivienne swings the door open wide to let me in and takes a couple bags from me. “Hopefully,” she says and leads me to the kitchen. 

“This place is awesome,” I tell her while I look around her apartment. The kitchen is behind the open living and dining room. It’s full of cute furniture and comic books frame the wall artfully. “Is everything ready for the party?” I ask her as she dumps chips into bowls. 

“Yep, besides the snacks.”

I begin to help her sort through the various sodas and chips and dips she has. “Where’s Heather?” I ask with enthusiasm. 

“Heather is in the shower right now. You’ll finally get to meet her!” she smiles and takes a Dorito.

When we finish putting out the snacks, Viv looks at me for the first time. “Is that what you’re wearing?” she asks with disgust. 

I look down at my outfit and shrug. I’m wearing a pair of black leggings and a faded gray sweater. “What’s wrong with this? I wanted to be comfortable.” 

She shakes her head and sighs. “Jude, we’re having a party tonight, not watching Netflix like you normally do,” she grabs onto my arm and pulls me into the hallway leading to the rooms and the bathroom. 

“Why does it matter? It’s not like I’m trying to impress anyone,” I complain as she holds up various dresses and shirts up to me. 

“It does matter,” she counters. “My friends are going to be here tonight, and most of them are pretentious, judgemental art students. If my sister isn’t up to par, I’ll lose serious social points.” 

I roll my eyes as she begins to “fix” my makeup. 

She finishes putting half of my hair in a messy top knot when Heather walks into the room wearing a pair of jean shorts and a loose graphic tee. She has dark skin, glasses, and light pink hair. I immediately stand up and embrace her. “Heather! I’ve heard so much about you, it’s so good to finally meet you!” I exclaim. 

I pull away and she examines me. “You must be Jude…” she seems unsure. “Vivi told me everything about you; it feels like I already know you!”

I smile and embrace her again. “I’m just so glad that my sister is happy with you,” I tell her. 

A knock comes from the door and Heather leaves to start letting people in. “She seems great!” I tell Viv. 

“I know,” Vivienne says with a confident voice. “She’s the best person I know.” 

It seems like forever, but Viv finally decides on an outfit and I begrudgingly change into it. I wear a black high waisted skater skirt, fishnet leggings, and a maroon off-the-shoulder crop top. “I don’t understand why I have to wear this,” I complain as I struggle into a pair of combat boots. “Heather was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Why can’t I wear a sweater?” 

Viv rolls her eyes and puts a black choker on me. “Heather is the love of my life, so she can do whatever she wants. You’re my baby sister, so you have to do whatever I say.” 

I’m annoyed, but I know that I won’t win this battle against her. We exit her room and go into the kitchen where we find Taryn with Locke’s arm around her. They lean up against the counter and are having a conversation with Heather about her cartoons. Taryn glances at me and then away quickly with annoyance. Locke looks me up and down and winks at me. 

I turn away in disgust and look around the apartment. Several people are dancing in the living room and I spot a familiar someone on the couch with a girl under his arm and a glass of wine in his other hand. “You didn’t tell me Cardan was coming,” I whisper to Vivienne. 

“He is a good friend of mine, and one hell of a partier. Did you not want me to invite him?” she looks over to him sitting on the couch and smirks at me. “Is just being friends not as easy as you wanted it to be?”

I ignore her and leave the kitchen. Without realizing it, I’m walking in Cardan’s direction, but I stop when I see familiar faces walk through the door. I wave The Shadows over to me. “You guys made it!” I exclaim when they reach me. 

“Trust me, it took a lot of convincing,” The Bomb complains as we walk into the dining room. 

“I still don’t know why I’m here,” The Roach grumbles. 

“To have fun!” I tell him. “You don’t have to be an old man all of the time.” 

The Ghost fidgets nervously and looks around the room. “Are you okay?” I ask him. 

“Yeah, I’ve just never been to a party to, you know, actually party,” he says and the other two nod their head in agreement. 

“Wow,” I laugh. “Dain has you on tighter leashes than I thought. Let's have a good time tonight! I want to see you guys let loose. Especially you, Roach.” 

He mumbles something, but I can’t hear it. We start to talk about future plans when a figure comes up behind me and wraps their arms around my shoulders. I turn around to see a wicked grin, tight black jeans, and a black t-shirt. “Cardan,” I complain and lightly push him away from me. 

“How’s it going, my sweet? You look good,” he says while putting an arm around me and turning to the other three people standing in front of us awkwardly. 

“It’s fine, Cardan,” I glance around the room to see Locke glaring at me, and Vivienne giving me a pointed look. “Can you not put your arm around me?” I whisper to him. 

“It’s a friend-arm, Jude, I promise. We are only friends,” he says with my friends able to hear. 

I sigh with annoyance, but I roll with it. People are going to think what they want. 

“Are you going to introduce me to your friends?” Cardan slurs while motioning in front of us. 

“Of course. You already know Garrett. This is…” 

“Brooke,” The Bomb says while holding out her hand and Cardan takes it. 

“And I’m Rupert,” The Roach says in a slightly more pleasant tone.

The five of us take a seat at the table. “So, how did you guys become friends?” Cardan asks. 

“We’re all in journalism,” I tell him. 

“Ah, the mysterious journalism class that Jude has told me nothing about.” 

“The three of us have been in it forever it seems,” The Bomb explains. “But Jude joined us this year, and she’s been a great addition.” 

“She usually is,” Cardan remarks as he takes a sip from his wine. 

The Ghost has his eyes locked on someone and I turn to see Taryn standing by herself while Locke is who knows where. Cardan notices too. “You should go talk to her,” he tells The Ghost. 

“I don’t know…” The Ghost looks down. 

“Just do it,” The Roach grumbles. “You probably won’t get a better chance.” 

He reluctantly stands and walks over to her while we all watch with interest. They seem to get along, and the rest of us lose interest. “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” I tell the table. 

They nod and The Bomb begins to make small talk with Cardan. I walk down the hall and I’m about to open the bathroom door when I hear two voices coming from the room. I recognize one as Lockes, but the other is a stranger. “That’ll be fifty dollars,” Locke says. 

I sink into Vivienne’s room right next to the bathroom and listen in. “Can’t you cut me a deal tonight?” the stranger says. 

“Nope, if you want it, it’s fifty dollars,” Locke says sternly. 

“Fine,” the stranger grumbles. 

A few seconds later I see them leave the bathroom and the stranger pops a pill in his mouth as Locke pockets the money. They’re out of the hallway, and I completely forget that I had to pee. 

I go to the dining room and yank The Roach out of his chair and drag him to a corner, leaving a surprised Cardan and The Bomb. 

“What is your problem?” he exclaims. 

“I know that we aren’t doing any spy work tonight, but this can’t wait until Monday,” I blurt out. “I just witnessed a drug deal.” 

“So?” The Roach responds annoyed. “We’re in an apartment with a bunch of college kids. I’m sure most of them are high all of the time.” 

“That’s the thing,” I tell him. “It wasn’t with a college student. Locke is a dealer.” 

Surprise lights up in his eyes. “This is the exact type of thing that Dain has been looking for, Jude. Good work,” he says, impressed. “We’ll deal with it on Monday.” 

The Bomb comes over to us, giggling. She grabs onto The Roach and drags him onto the dance floor. I watch them with amusement. The Bomb moves freely, but The Roach stands stiff and sways barely to the music. 

Before I know it, Cardan waltzes over to me and grabs my hand. “Lets dance, Jude dear.”

We walk to the dance floor and dance. Cardan whirls around to the song gracefully and swings me around with him. After a few songs, we decide that we need a break, so we sit down on the couch with a huff. His arm resumes it’s position around me. “I’m out of wine,” he complains to me. “Will you go get me some?” 

“I’m not your servant,” I snipe at him. 

“Please,” he whines into my ear.

“Fine, Your Majesty” I stand up and he smirks at me, triumphantly. 

Vivienne and Heather are in the kitchen when I arrive. I start to pour Cardan a glass of red wine and they come over to me. “You’re boyfriend is so hot,” Heather says. 

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I respond. 

“Then who is the beautiful brooding boy who’s been latched to you all night?” she asks, confused. 

I finish filling his glass and take a sip. 

“Oh, Cardan and Jude are apparently just friends, Heather,” Vivienne chimes in with a delighted tone.

Heather turns to me with a raised eyebrow. “Do they know that?” she asks Viv playfully.

“You guys suck,” I say and return to the living room. 

Cardan remains on the couch, but the same girl from earlier has tucked herself in next to him. She attempts to bring his face down to hers, but he doesn’t budge. He sees me enter the room again and scoots aways from her in annoyance, making room for me to take a seat next to him. 

I hand him his wine and sit down beside him. She watches me with evil eyes and gets up with a huff. Cardan sips on his wine and twists a strand of my hair between his fingers. I examine the room: The Bomb, The Roach, and The Ghost are all dancing together, Heather and Viv are talking to a guy in a beanie, and Taryn and Locke sit on a couch opposite of us. Locke and Taryn look at Cardan and I intently and then whisper to each other with giggles. 

I bring my legs up onto the couch and shift to face Cardan, crossing my legs in front of me. “Why are you friends with him?” I ask Cardan. 

He moves into the same position as me and says, “you’ll have to be a little more specific.” 

“Locke,” I state while Cardan lets out a sigh. “He’s a terrible person. I mean, he stole Nicasia from you.”

“It’s complicated, Jude. When you have a friend as long as I have with Locke, you tend to forgive and forget.” 

“Yeah, but-”

“Can we not talk about Locke?” he asks and I nod my head. “Let’s play questions.”

“Why do you always wear black?” I ask. 

“It brings out my eyes. What’s your favorite book?” 

“Lord of the Flies. Why do you drink so much?” 

“To forget. Why didn’t you introduce me to your friends before tonight?” 

“They’re a tight knit bunch, and you and I have only just decided to be friends. What’s your favorite song?” 

“Hey Jude. What’s-” 

“That is not your favorite song,” I accuse. 

“It is so,” he says with a smirk. 

“It’s not and you know it, you’re just trying to win friendship points. You’re lying.” 

“I am not.”

I watch his eyebrow closely, but it doesn’t twitch at all. “How long has that been your favorite song?” I ask. 

He thinks for a moment before replying. “Probably since freshman year.”

I raise an eyebrow. 

“When I realized that I didn’t hate you,” he smirks, but his eyes are soft. “I listened to it nonstop, hoping that it would make me hate you again. I mean, they sing your name like a million times. It… it didn’t work the way I wanted it to.” 

“Cardan,” I sigh and look at his hands. 

He has several rings on, but one catches my eyes. I grab a hold of his left hand and examine the ring on his middle finger. It has a gold band with a large scarlet stone. “Can I help you?” he asks smugly. 

“This is my ring, Cardan,” I proclaim. 

He glances at it. “I guess it is.” 

“Did you steal it from me?” I demand. 

He sips his wine slowly and swallows. “I didn’t steal it. I’m borrowing it,” he says, self-satisfied. 

“For how long?” I ask. 

“I’m not sure,” he says with a shrug. 

“Well, when did you borrow it?”

“Thursday night. I got it from your jewelry box before you kicked me out of your room,” he tells me like it’s the most obvious thing ever. 

“Were you going to tell me that you’re borrowing it?” 

His answer is a shrug. 

I roll my eyes. “You’re the worst friend ever,” I tell him and he smirks at me. 

Towards the end of the night, Vivienne asks me to help her clean up the kitchen. As we’re finishing up, she disappears and I’m the only one cleaning. The party music shifts and I hear a familiar ‘Hey Jude’ come on the stereo. I turn around, confused, to see Cardan beaming at me. 

“What a coincidence that this song just happens to come on,” Cardan says with an outstretched hand. 

“It’s definitely not a coincidence, Vivienne hates The Beatles,” I remark. 

I take his hand and he pulls me closer to him. He places one hand on my waist and I place mine on his arm. We waltz around the room and listen to the melody. 

I can feel his heartbeat, and I’m sure he can feel mine. We look into each other's eyes with longing. When the song ends, we stand with each other for another minute until I pull away. 

He lightly kisses my hand and leaves me standing in the kitchen, breathless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry, but this took me longer to write and upload than I wanted it to. I had to fight some major procrastination. 
> 
> Regardless, I hoped you liked another party chapter. Even though this party was way more chill than Cardan’s birthday. I’m kind of vibing with Cardan and Jude being friends and not hating each other. (Don’t worry, they’re gonna date soon).
> 
> Thank you SO SO SO much for the kudos and the comments. I love reading the comments more than anything, they’re the reason I’m probably still writing this. Cause I didn’t think anyone would like it. Love you guys!
> 
> Stay safe <3


	12. Chapter 12

Monday morning, I drag myself to school. The Ghost is in his seat when I arrive to Mr. Scott’s class. “Make sure you’re on time, fourth hour,” he tells me.

“Why?” I ask.

“Dain’s coming in to talk to us,” he says quietly to me. 

I’m about to ask him more about it, but Cardan waltzes into the room with Locke at his side. I give him a smile and he walks over to my desk. He hands me a coffee, and I take it graciously. “Thank you so much. This is much needed,” I tell him. 

“Anything for you, Jude dear,” he leaves with a smirk and sits down next to a brooding Locke. 

“Are you guys dating yet?” The Ghost blurts out. 

“What?” I exclaim. 

“Cause it’s kind of stupid if you aren’t,” he says in a bored tone. 

“We aren’t dating because…” I trail off. 

Why aren’t we dating? I can’t remember why I turned him down when I did. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but now… 

Before my thoughts get ahead of me, Mr. Scott begins his lecture and I take out my notes. 

After class, I don’t even bother looking around for The Ghost, I know he’s already gone. I finish packing up my stuff when Cardan comes up behind me. “How was the coffee?” he asks into my ear. 

“It was perfect,” I reply as he puts his arm around me casually.

“Good,” he says as we begin to walk to art. “I wasn’t sure what your coffee order was, so I guessed an americano.” 

“Well, you guessed correctly. That’s my normal drink order,” I respond with a surprised, but impressed tone. 

“Wonderful,” he says as we arrive at the art room. I take my seat, and Cardan takes his. 

Soon, I’m waiting for Dain to arrive with my fellow Shadows. The Bomb hums a familiar tune, The Ghost plays a game on his phone, and The Roach stares at the wall grumpily. “What’s the reason for our meeting today?” I ask after a few minutes of waiting. 

“To update me on your progress, of course,” I turn to see Dain standing charmingly in the doorway. 

I immediately straighten in my chair, The Ghost puts his phone away, and The Bomb goes silent. Dain walks through the room and takes a seat at the head desk at the front of the room. We all face him and wait for him to speak first. 

“The Roach has been updating me on your progress, Jude,” he says finally, “but I wanted to hear your progress in your own words.” 

“Of course,” I clear my throat timidly. “It’s been easier than expected to mix myself into the popular kids. I’ve gotten close to Jameson Samuels, Julius Jones, and Luna Jacobson. I eat lunch with them everyday.” 

He nods his head thoughtfully. “That’s great. I want them to really trust you, everybody to trust you. So, you’re going to have to dig more and get closer to people. The Roach told me about Samantha and Mr. Penope. I plan on taking care of it next week.” 

The four of us nod our heads. 

“Have you gotten anything else that we didn’t know about?” he asks me. 

“Actually,” I reply. “Yes. This weekend I discovered that Locke is a drug dealer.” 

“Locke?” he asks, surprised. “As in party planning Locke?” 

“Yes, I witnessed him making a deal at my sisters party. I don’t know if he’s been dealing at school, but if he has been…”

“He’ll have to be expelled,” Dain smiles greedily. “That would be perfect. If I expel a golden boy like Locke, it will discourage other dealers. They won’t question my authority at all.” 

He looks between all of us. “This is our greatest priority at the moment. I need all eyes and ears to be on Locke. If he’s fallen under the radar for this long, it will be difficult to catch him. We need evidence, and I know that you will be able to get it.” 

Dain stands and begins to make his way to the door. “Alright,” he says. “I believe that covers everything I needed to today. The Roach has been keeping me updated on our other projects, so we’re good.”

He reaches the door, but right before he leaves, he turns back around to us. “Oh, Jude, how is my baby brother doing?” 

“Cardan?” I ask, concerned. 

Dain nods his head. “Yes, The Roach told me that you two have grown very close. I want you to keep doing so. I’ll need all the information I can get, so make him and his friends trust you. I know the reason you were both late last week.”

“Of course,” I reply quietly. I don’t want my newfound friendship with Cardan to be tainted by some ulterior motive. I’m loyal to Dain, I have to be, but Cardan and I are on a higher level than that. 

“And please,” he says to The Roach,“get her late passes, so I don’t have to hear about it.”

“We have late passes!” I exclaim angrily after Dain has left. “That is something that I need to know about!”

During lunch, I decide to sit with The Shadows. We need to discuss more ways to catch Locke. A few minutes into lunch, Cardan sits down at our table. “What’s up, guys?” he says. 

“Hey, Cardan,” The Bomb says. 

“Can we help you?” The Roach grumbles. 

“Now, I just wanted to eat lunch with my new friends,” he sings out. He looks at me smugly. “Is that not allowed, Jude dear?”

“Of course it is,” I reply cautiously. I motion to the table that Cardan sits at. “It’s fine with us, but is it fine with them?” 

Nicasia and Valerian stare daggers at us, but Cardan only smirks at their reaction. “They’ll be fine without me for a while. It’s difficult, I know, but people can survive without my presence near them.” 

I roll my eyes and take a bit of my apple slices. “You’re so ridiculous.”

He shrugs and begins a conversation with The Bomb. 

\-----

Tuesday night, I’m sitting in my dorm room bored to death. I’ve been debating calling Cardan for the last hour. He’s come over every night for a week and he has yet to show up tonight. He’s either two hours late or not coming at all. I hope he’s just late. My room feels too big without him posed on my bed or working at my desk. 

Of course, I curse in my head, the one night I don’t have homework. He doesn’t show up. 

Before I lose my courage, I call him. When he picks up, I can hear talking in the background. His voice slurs a little, and I can tell that he’s been drinking. “Jude, my sweet, what’s up?” he says nonchalantly. 

“Hey, Cardan,” I reply awkwardly. “I was just calling to see if you were okay.” 

“If I was… okay?” he asks slowly with suspicion. I hear him shuffling and a door close; the voices are no longer a distraction. 

“Yeah,” I answer, stubbornly. “I wanted to know if you were okay.” 

“Well, I’m great, dear.”

“Oh, um, okay then. Good.” 

I feel like a complete idiot. Of course he would be fine. He’s more than fine. He’s partying with his real friends. 

“Why do you ask?” his voice is light. 

“I- uh. I guess I was just worried because you didn’t come over tonight, and then you didn’t call or text,” I tell him, confidence growing in my voice. “I wanted to make sure that you weren’t dead in a ditch somewhere.” 

“Mmmhhh,” he mumbles. “I see, you’re upset because I didn’t come over tonight.” 

“I am not,” I object. 

“Yes, you are.”

I can hear the smugness in his voice, and I know that he’s smirking. 

“It’s okay, Jude. You can admit that you’re obsessed with me,” he says. 

“I am most definitely not obsessed with you,” anger rises in my voice. “If anything, you’re obsessed with me.” 

He ticks his tongue in disapproval. “I’m not the one who called, now am I?” 

“Well,” I counter. “I’m not the one who showed up to a friend’s room for a week straight and then didn’t come over without an explanation.” 

“I’m sorry that I have other friends,” his tone turns playful. “I am allowed to have more friends than just you, right?” 

I roll my eyes and groan in frustration. “I never said you couldn’t! I’m just saying that you could have texted me, so I wouldn’t have waited around forever for you not to show up.”

“Aw, you were waiting for me! How sweet,” he coos. “It’s okay to admit that you miss me, Jude.” 

I don’t admit anything.

“Okay,” he barters. “How about you come over to the fourth floor common room in my dormitory and hang out with my friends? You get to be around me, and I still get to drink wine with all of my friends. It’s a win for everybody.” 

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea…” I reply, hesitant. “Your friends and I don’t have a good history.” 

“Come on, Jude,” he urges. “You’re just making excuses. You and I don’t have a good history either. Besides, I’ve hung out and gotten to know your friends.” 

He has a good point… maybe I should go. I sigh and look around my sad, empty room. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” I reply and hang up before I can change my mind. 

In barely any time, I’m standing in front of Insweal Hall, begging for my courage to return. I take a deep breath and enter cautiously. No immediate threat comes at me, so I enter the elevator and press the button for the fourth floor. 

When the elevator dings at my floor and opens its doors, I’m met with a cloud of smoke. I step out of the elevator and into the common room filled with about twelve people. I look around at all of them and realize that it’s the exact people that Dain wants me to investigate. 

Cardan sits on a couch on the far wall with a bottle of wine in his hand. He catches my eye, and I walk over to him, ignoring the glares from Nicasia, Valerian, Locke, and Taryn (so this is where she sneaks off to). “Just couldn’t stay away,” Cardan smirks at me when I reach him. 

“Apparently not.” 

I sit on the floor in front of him, in between his legs, leaning up against the couch. Cardan plays with my hair and hands me the bottle he’s been drinking from. I observe the room and smile at those who are friendly with me. Luna Jacobson comes and sits by me. 

The three of us have a conversation about nothingness until she’s called away to help mix some drinks. I lean in closer to Cardan and take his bottle from him. “How do you guys get away with this?” I ask him, motioning to the alcohol being drunk and the pot being smoked. 

“We all have connections,” Cardan says vaguely. 

“Yeah, but what kind of connections?” 

“Well,” he begins. “First, the people in this room are the only ones who know. You and Taryn are the only outsiders to ever be invited; that’s only because Locke and I started this whole thing. Second, we block all the doors and windows, so no one can see into our parties. Third, I’m very good friends with our RA. Finally, we’ve managed to turn off all of the security cameras on the fourth floor, so if someone were to report us, there would be absolutely no evidence.” 

Wow. I think to myself. No wonder they’ve been under the radar of Dain and The Shadows for so long. 

“That’s really impressive,” I reply, trying not to seem too interested. 

We continue to pass the bottle back and forth as Cardan twists my hair in his fingers. Eventually, Nicasia decides that glaring at me isn’t enough, so she comes over to the two of us. “What are you doing here?” she spits at me. 

“Cardan invited me,” I respond. 

She sits in front of me with a huff, almost spilling her entire blue drink. “He’s never invited one of his lovers before,” she garbles out. 

“Oh, I’m not his lover,” I correct. “Cardan and I are just friends.” 

“Even more strange,” she mutters to herself. 

“Are you okay, Nic?” Cardan asks her. 

“Of course, just enjoying your pleasant company,” she slurs. “You know what, Jude, you’re actually kind of pretty.” 

I’m taken back. I’ve never seen Nicasia give another person a compliment before. I decide that she must be very drunk, she probably won’t even remember any of this tomorrow, so I decide to be nice back. 

“You’re kind of pretty too, Nicasia,” I tell her. 

“Oh, I know,” she says with a hair flip. “I’m beautiful.” 

The three of us chuckle and listen to the song that’s playing. Nicasia asks me about my favorite bands, and I ask her about her favorite movies. Eventually she runs out of what she’s drinking, she stands up shakily. “You know what Jude? I don’t particularly like you, but Cardan seems to. So, I guess that I’m just going to have to get used to you being around.” 

“I guess you will,” I reply as she turns and sways to the booze table. 

I turn around to see a smiling Cardan. “That was so strange,” I say to him. “Completely out of the blue.” 

“I’m just glad that you can get along with someone, Jude,” he says with a smirk. “It truly is a wonder.” 

Rolling my eyes, I turn back around and begin to play with his ring- my ring on his hand. 

Eventually, Cardan walks me back to my room, and with a little convincing, Cardan ends up sleeping next to me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! How’s everyone doing? I hope you enjoyed my latest chapter of this fic. 
> 
> Someone asked, and I forgot to put it in my notes. But yes, The Bomb and The Roach gave Cardan fake names. I chose names that kind of sounded like their code names. The names they gave him are like code-code names (if that makes sense). So it’s harder to trace them back to Dain because they do the most corresponding with him via their real names.
> 
> Okay.... now that we got that cleared up. I hoped you liked this chapter. Jude is doing some stuff for Dain and trying not to admit that she likes Cardan. Also, I think I’m probably going to make her and Nicasia friends. Sorry if you hate that! 
> 
> Thanks for reading this story! Thanks for the kudos and all of the comments! I love them so much.
> 
> Stay safe <3


	13. Chapter 13

Thursday, I’m sitting next to Luna at lunch when Cardan comes over to me and grabs my lunch. He walks away and I chase after him. “What are you doing?” I exclaim. 

Cardan ignores me and keeps walking. He sets down my tray at his table in between him and Nicasia. He sits down and motions for me to do the same. Reluctantly, I join him. “And you did this why?” I ask him in his ear. 

He takes a bite of an apple and smirks. “I sat with your weird friends at lunch the other day, I thought that you should return the favor.” 

I glance around the table: Locke winks at me, Taryn ignores me, Valerian leaves the table as soon as we make eye contact, and Nicasia doesn’t react at all. Remembering our odd conversation Tuesday night, I decide it’s best to make conversation with her. “So,” I say awkwardly. “Nicasia, what are you doing over the long weekend?” 

This weekend is family weekend. We get Friday and Monday off to return home to our families and let them know that the school year is going fine. “My mother and I are going to spend the weekend at our favorite beach house,” she replies apathetically. 

“That sounds relaxing,” I respond, happy that she didn’t spit at me or call me names. 

“What about you?” she asks me with more interest in her voice. 

“Taryn and I,” Taryn looks up at me for the first time, “are spending the weekend at Madoc’s estate, or the Stronghold as he likes to call it,” I add with an exasperated eye roll.

“I would say that sounds fun… but I know Madoc.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be good to spend time with Oak, and Vivienne is going to bring her girlfriend over for our big family dinner Saturday night,” I add.

“I’m going to that too,” Locke butts into our conversation.

Nicasia and I both turn to see his smug face. 

“Excuse me?” I spit at him. 

“Were we talking to you?” Nicasia asks fiercely. 

Cardan chuckles deeply behind me; he leans into our conversation and puts his arm around my chair. “Not necessarily,” Locke continues. “But you’re having a conversation for everyone to hear, and I thought it would be better for Jude to know that I’ll be there before the fact.” 

I narrow my eyes at him. “Why are you going to be there?” 

“I’m glad you asked,” he sits up in his chair and smiles charmingly. “Well, you see, Vivienne is bringing her significant other, so Madoc thought it was only fitting for Taryn to do the same. It’ll be the grand meeting of the family.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask Taryn who has been staring at the table. 

“I didn’t think this was any of your business,” she returns aggressively. 

I look at her a minute more before rolling my eyes and turning away, annoyed. “So,” Nicasia says, changing the subject. “What are you doing over the weekend, Cardan?” 

I feel him let out a sigh. “I’m probably just going to hang around campus.” 

“What?” I turn and face him, surprised. “You’re not going home to see your family?”

He shrugs casually. “It’s not like they want to see me, so why should I make the trip all the way out there?”

“You’re going to be here all alone,” I take his hand under the table. He seems relaxed, but I can see the anguish in his eyes. 

Nicasia leans back in her chair. “You can always come spend the weekend with me and my mom,” she suggests. 

“Nah, that’s alright. As much as I love your mom,” Cardan says with a smile. “I’m fine riding solo. I have a few bottles that I’ve been meaning to drink.”

“I’ll probably have some free time,” I tell him. 

“It’s really no big deal. I want you guys to spend your time with your family,” he has an upbeat tone. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be perfectly fine here.” 

“Cardan…” I say softly, but the bell rings and lunch is over. 

The next day, Madoc picks Taryn and I up around 10:00 am. We ride to his stronghold in a comfortable quiet with the radio playing softly. He asks a few questions, but he can tell that we’re not in the mood to talk. 

When we arrive at the house, Oak comes running from the door to tackle Taryn and I in a group hug. He’s grown taller in the short time we’ve been away, and his hair is mussed. Oriana looks on from the doorway as Tatterfell, our nanny, gets our bags from the trunk. “How have you been, Oak?” I ask him when he detaches himself. 

“I’ve been great!” he exclaims. “I miss you guys. You should come home more. I have so much to tell you. I have decided to become a soccer star. I want to-”

He continues to ramble as we walk inside. Oriana quiets him down and lures him away with cookies so Taryn and I can take our bags to our rooms. 

The rest of Friday is spent with Madoc and I practicing archery in the backyard while Oak kicks his soccer ball, and Taryn helps Oriana with some stitch work in the parlor. 

The next day, Tatterfell wakes me up too early. When I complain, she only replies with, “sleeping is for the dead, and you’re not dead, so get up!”

I begrudgingly comply and go downstairs to breakfast, passing all of Madoc’s medals and achievements from his service in the armed forces. When I arrive in the kitchen, everybody is already there. Oak has syrup dripping from his chin as he shovels his waffles into his mouth. “Woah, bro, slow down,” I tell him as I give him a hug from behind. 

“I can’t,” he manages to get out with a full mouth. “Madoc and I are going fishing.” 

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Can I go too?” I ask. 

“I’m afraid not,” Madoc reports to me after a sip of coffee. “You need to stay here and help Oriana and Taryn get stuff ready for dinner.” 

“What?” I utter. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.” 

“You’re right,” Taryn retorts. “Thinking that you’d be helpful is quite ridiculous.” 

I narrow my eyes at her. “Are you serious right now?” 

She shrugs her shoulders and leaves the room with a hairflip as I roll my eyes. Oriana carries Oak off to wash his face, so Madoc and I are left alone. “Why can’t I go with you and Oak?” I groan. 

“This dinner is very important tonight,” he informs me. “We have an important guest coming, and I want the whole family to make a good impression.” 

I know that the guest he’s talking about isn’t Heather, so he must want to impress Locke, or Locke’s bank account. I drop my head next to my plate. “You know I hate housework. What’s the point of even having a nanny if we have to do everything?” 

“You hate fishing more than you hate housework,” he asserts, and he’s right.

“But it’s better than being locked in a house with my sister all day,” I tell him. 

He raises a domineering eyebrow. “What is going on with you two? I’ve never seen you act like this. What's the reasoning behind this?” 

“The same reason behind you wanting this dinner party to be good,” I reply before grabbing a piece of toast and leaving to get dressed. 

\-----

“That’s not what you’re wearing is it?” Oriana seems disgusted. 

I look down at my seemingly okay outfit. “Why does everyone ask me that?” I exclaim. “What’s wrong with my outfit this time?” 

I’m wearing a faded pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and red flannel. “It’s just… um,” she pauses and looks me up and down again. “So, grungy.” 

“Grungy?”

“Yes, grungy. Go put on something nicer, dinner starts in half an hour,” she waves me off and keeps setting the table. “And fix your hair!”

I go upstairs to my room and change into a navy bell sleeved dress, and I convince Tatterfell to style my hair with a crown braid. I’m just getting finished up when the doorbell rings. Taryn rushes from the bathroom and passed my room, I’m assuming to get to Locke first. However, it’s not Locke’s voice I hear, but Heathers warm one. 

It’s my turn to rush downstairs. Heather and Vivienne stand in the foyer with a stern faced Madoc and an apprehensive Oriana. I give both of them a hug. “It’s so good to see you again, Heather!”

“Same to you, Jude, and I’m glad that Vivi is finally introducing me to the rest of her family!” she smiles happily next to an on-edge Vivienne. 

Oriana leads the two of them to the dining room and Madoc turns to follow. I move to his side. “Can you not be your typical old army conservative that you normally are?” I ask him. “Try being nice.”

Before he can respond, the doorbell rings again; he turns around as Oriana rushes to latch herself to his arm. I walk into the dining room and pick up Oak as I hear Locke enter the household. “How are you feeling?” I ask Viv. 

“I’ll be fine as long as he behaves,” she says, meaning Madoc. 

“Don’t worry,” I try to sound reassuring. “He’ll be alright. You can always storm out, that’s my plan for when things go sour.” 

She smiles weakly and turns to Heather who is asking about a family picture. I sit down Oak in his chair and give him a roll. I then assume my position in between Madoc at the head of the table and Vivienne as the rest of the dinner party walks into the room. “Oh,” Heather says, seeing Locke. “I didn’t know other significant others were invited. Jude, is Cardan coming?” 

My eyes go wide at her simple question. “Cardan?” Madoc questions. “Cardan Greenbriar? Are you two dating?” 

All eyes fall on me and I fight to keep down a blush. “Of course not,” I reply as everyone takes their respective seats. 

“No, they’re not dating, but Jude certainly has control over Cardan,” Taryn says snarkily. I glare at Taryn and pray that she doesn’t say anything else. 

“Control?” Madoc seems intrigued. 

“No, no. We’re just friends, wait, not friends- acquaintances,” I correct, trying to downplay Cardan and I’s relationship. 

“They definitely have something,” Locke says with a smirk.

“Stay out of this, Locke,” I warn. 

“Jude,” Madoc scolds. “That is no way to treat a guest.” 

I look down at my plate and begin to eat. “Heather is a great artist!” Vivienne blurts out, trying to change the subject. I shoot her a grateful glance. 

“Is that so?” Oriana responds politely. 

“Yes,” Heather expresses. “I’m graduating this spring with an art major.” 

Madoc looks at her like he’s studying a fly. “How are you planning on making money?” he asks. 

“Dad!” Vivi exclaims with anger. 

“No, no,” Heather says calmingly to her. “It’s a question I get often. I’m actually going to publish comic books. I already have a three book deal ready to go.” 

“That’s wonderful for you,” Oriana adds thoughtfully. 

Madoc nods his head. “Are you in love with my daughter?” he asks her point blank. 

“Dad,” Vivienne warns him.

“I am in love with Vivienne,” Heather responds assertively. 

“I’m asking, Heather, because this is just a phase for Vivienne. She’ll eventually get over it and find a man to marry. I just don’t want you to be heartbroken when she does,” he proclaims. 

Vivienne shoots out of her chair and grabs onto Heather. “That’s it!” she shouts. “Have a nice life! I hope I never see you again.”

She storms out of the room and I follow her to her car. “I’m so sorry, guys,” I tell them with a hug before they leave. 

“It’s not your fault, it’s his,” Viv mutters before they leave. 

“I hope to see you soon, Jude, and I’m sorry about the whole Cardan thing, I didn’t know it was such a hot topic,” Heather says to me. 

I wave them goodbye and return to a dinner full of praising Locke. 

Later that evening, after Locke has finally left, Madoc calls me into his study. “So, you and the Greenbriar kid, huh?” he says as I enter the room. 

I take a seat in one of his monstrous leather arm chairs. “There is no me and the Greenbriar kid,” I tell him. 

The wheels in his head start to turn. “I think there should be,” he declares. 

“Why is that?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. 

“The Greenbriars are the richest, most influential families in this country. We’re friends with them, but it would be even better if we married into the family. My original plan had been with Taryn, but she’s too dreamy-eyed with Locke, which isn’t a bad thing, he has connections too. So, it’s up to you, my favorite. It’s up to you to nab the Greenbriar. You already have a leg up on him. It should be easy for you to finish the deal.”

When he finishes, I’m shocked. How could he possibly want to do this to his own daughter? He’s fine trading us off to the highest bidder, as long as it will increase his business dealings. 

I slowly come out of shock, and I’m fuming. “I can’t believe this!” I exclaim. “I hate you.” 

I rush out of the house and I keep going. Before I know it, I’m a mile away from the house with nowhere to go. I take my phone out of my pocket and prepare to call Vivienne, but something stops me. There’s only one person I want to talk to right now. 

“Cardan?” I breathe out when he picks up the phone. 

“Jude, dear, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just needed to hear your voice.” 

“Okay…” I can hear the worry in his voice. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll be in your dorm in fifteen minutes.” 

I hang up on him and call myself a cab. On the way to the academy, I look up Cardan’s room with the resources given to me by The Ghost. I find that he lives in Insear, the dormitory that the headmaster stays in. 

I basically run from the cab when we pull onto campus. I knock on Cardan’s door and he opens it almost simultaneously. “That was not fifteen minutes,” he complains with a smirk. “That was-”

I don’t give him time to finish. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his lips down to mine. He hungrily kisses me back and slides his tongue into my mouth. 

I wrap my legs around him as he picks me up. He closes the door, careful not to break the kiss. He tastes like a sweet wine and his smell is intoxicating. I tug and pull on his hair, urging him to keep going. 

Cardan sits down on a couch and I straddle him. He sucks on my lower lip and I let out a groan. His hands run up and down me, energizing me wherever his skin touches mine. I lower my lips and kiss his neck softly, causing him to let out a low moan. “Jude,” he breathes out. “Is this real?” 

In response, I bite him, and he lightly yelps in surprise. I continue to suck his neck until he brings my lips back to his. He kisses me long and slow before pulling away. “We better stop now, Jude, because if we don’t I won’t be able to stop later. I don’t think we’re ready to go all the way.”

He’s right and I kiss him one last time before I pull away from him completely. “Sorry,” I say blushing. “I kind of sprung that on you.” 

He smirks thoughtfully. “Don’t be sorry, I’ve been dreaming of you doing that for years.” 

I get up and go into his bathroom to wash my face. I take out my hair and see one of his large, poofy shirts on the floor. Deciding it would be better to sleep in than the dress I’m wearing, I put it on and return to Cardan who is now laying on his bed. He looks me up and down with desire. “Jude, you’re killing me, you can’t look that sexy around me,” he tells me with hunger in his voice. 

I lay on the other side of his bed and smirk. I lean over and kiss him again before cuddling into the crook of his arm. “Why did you decide to do this?” 

“Well,” I let out a sigh. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot, Cardan, and I have a theory. Right now, you’re the only one I want to spend time with and we are spending a tremendous amount of time together. Through that time, I’ve realized that you’re not as vile as I thought you were.”

He scoffs, “thanks.”

“Listen!” I smack him. “Anyways, we’re spending a lot of time together. My theory is if we decided to date nothing would really change, except we would get to kiss and do that kind of stuff. We’ve learned that we’re quite good at that. So, I have decided to test my theory and you, Cardan Greenbriar.”

“Test me?” he asks apprehensively. 

“Yep, you get one date to either prove or disprove my theory.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello fellow book lover! I hope you enjoyed the latest installment to this story. 
> 
> A lot of people have been asking, and yes, we’re gonna see a hurt Jude. Probably in the next chapter or following chapter. I’m not sure yet. 
> 
> Anyways... we got romance! Woop Woop! Yay for kissing (I just hope I wrote it okay.) Hopefully Cardan will pass the ‘test’ so they can date. Also, I think it’s cute when Jude wears Cardan’s shirts, so prepare for that. Another also, I don’t like Madoc. Another also, yay for Jude-Nicasia power friendship? 
> 
> Thanks for reading this fan fiction! I’m glad that you guys enjoy it! Thanks so much for the kudos and the sweet messages.
> 
> Stay safe <3


	14. Chapter 14

I open my eyes slowly and see Cardan’s black ones smiling down at me. “Good morning, sweet Jude,” he coos to me with a quick peck on my lips. 

He gets out of bed while I let out a long yawn and look around his room, slowly remembering what happened last night. My phone buzzes with several texts and missed calls from Madoc, Taryn, and Vivienne. I reply to Viv with a quick ‘i’m fine. with cardan’ before setting my phone down. 

Cardan returns with a silly grin on his face. He carries a tray and sets it in front of me as I sit up. “What’s this all about?” I ask him groggily. 

“Well, you’re testing me with a date, right? So, today is going to be the deciding date. We don’t have to go anywhere, we’ll stay here in my room and have a date-day,” he explains to me proudly. 

I look at the tray to see a full breakfast: pancakes, fruit, orange juice, eggs, coffee, and a small vase with a flower. “This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s perfect,” I tell him with a smile. 

“Breakfast is just the beginning,” he kisses me again and sits on the edge of his humongous bed. 

I cut into my pancakes and observe his room more closely. The door opens up into a sitting room with several couches facing a fireplace. Two doors open to a closet and bathroom with a large armoire next to the closet door. His four poster bed faces the fireplace and stained glass windows arch over the bed. “How did you manage to get a room this good?” I ask. “My dorm room could fit in here five times.” 

He chuckles a little bit. “You seem to forget that this is Greenbriar Academy, and my name is Cardan Greenbriar.” 

“Still,” I point out. “This is the dormitory for the teachers and the headmaster.” 

He leans back and puts his hands behind his head. “The headmaster is, unfortunately, my brother and teachers haven’t always lived here. This dormitory was originally built for my siblings to live. It was given to the teachers after they all left the school, and to their disdain, when I was born.” 

I finish my pancakes and feed a grape to Cardan. “You don’t talk about your siblings a lot.” 

“There’s not much to talk about,” he sits back up and I give him another grape. 

“Yeah, but you act like you don’t even have a family. I mean, it’s family weekend and you’re still on campus,” I say to him. 

“You’re on campus,” he points out. He gets out of bed and takes my mostly empty breakfast tray. 

“That’s different, Cardan.” 

“Is it?” He sets the tray outside of his door and faces me with a questioning look. “I seriously don’t know. You didn’t tell me why you came here last night.” 

I blush as he begins to get dressed into a pair of skinny jeans and an oversized t-shirt. I get out of his warm bed and walk over to his closet. “Is there anything for me to wear?” I ask, still in his dress shirt. 

“Yeah, I could dig something out- wait- you’re dodging the subject,” he tells me with a pointed look. 

“I’m not dodging the subject, I just need some pants,” I respond. 

He comes into the closet with me and opens a drawer. “This was the drawer Nicasia used when we were- before Locke- I just never cleaned it out. There’s probably something that will fit you,” he stammers with regret and apology in his eyes. 

I go over to the drawer and dig around in it. Various shirts, skirts, leggings, and underthings are haphazardly thrown in it. I find a pair of black leggings and slide them on. I go back into his room and sit down on a couch and face Cardan. “Okay, you’ve got pants,” he says to me with a smirk. “It’s time to continue our date with a game.” 

“What type of game?” I ask precariously. 

“Take it easy, babe.” 

“Did you just call me babe?” I let out a laugh. 

“We’re just going to play some video games,” he tells me, ignoring my question. He turns on his TV and gives me a controller. 

“Why is this considered a date?” I ask him while the game loads. 

“Because we’re doing it together,” he responds sweetly. 

I roll my eyes and begin to figure out how to play the violent game that he picked out. “You’re so cheesy.” 

We spend some time shooting people together before I convince Cardan that we should play something else. He picks out another fighting game, but this time we get to fight against each other. “This is what I’m talking about! I’ll finally get to kick your ass,” I exclaim after he explains the game to me. 

“Good luck with that,” he says with a smirk. 

“Please, this will be a piece of cake.” 

It was not a piece of cake. “What the hell, Cardan?” I proclaim when we finish a few rounds. “Why are you so good at this game?” 

He shrugs. “I play a lot of video games, and I’m better than you.” 

“Okay,” I scoff sarcastically. “If this was real life, I would wipe the floor with you.” 

“We have fought before, Jude,” he says smugly. “And I beat you.” 

“I let you win, Cardan, so we could talk. If I actually tried, you’d be begging on your knees for mercy.” 

He stands up and opens a chest in front of his bed. He tosses me a wooden sword. “Let's settle this, shall we.” 

We move the couches to make space for our duel. “Are we seriously going to do this? Why do you even have wooden swords?” I inquire. 

“I like to get kinky,” he winks at me. 

I narrow my eyes. “You’re lying.” 

He laughs. “Yeah, I am. I mean- I do get kinky, but these swords haven’t been used for that- yet. Balekin and I used to spar when I was still his responsibility.” 

I nod and we take our respective positions from across the room. “Are you ready, darling?” 

“Of course. What could be more romantic than hitting you with a sword?” 

He comes at me quickly and swings, but I block it with ease. I push back and we begin our dance of attack and parry. We swing around and around, but unlike last time, I can read his every move and I’m ready for him. He swings at me highly, so I squat lowly and stick my leg out and twist around. 

I take Cardan out and he lays under me, breathing heavily. It’s my turn to smirk at him as I put the tip of my sword under his chin and lift it up. “See, I’m better than you, Your Highness.” 

“This is just a fluke. Lets go again.” 

“Sure,” I say while helping him stand up. “I’d love to beat you again.” 

We fight again and again and again, and every time I come out as the victor. After the fifth go around, I have my sword at Cardan’s throat. He breathes heavily and sweat drips from his brow. “Have you had enough yet?” I ask proudly. 

He lets out a sigh and lowers my sword with his hand. “I suppose.” 

I smile. “Okay, you can get on your knees and beg now.”

“What?” 

“On your knees,” I lower him down. “Surrender and ask for mercy.” 

He looks up at me with puppy dog eyes. “I surrender. Would you please give me mercy?” 

“Ummm, I don’t know,” I lean down and kiss him shortly. “I’ll forgive, but only because you look so helpless.” 

I kiss him again and he stands up slowly, careful not to break the kiss. Cardan grabs a hold of my hips and pulls me close against him. He slips his tongue into my mouth and deepens the kiss. I run my hands up across the skin under his shirt. I start to tug on the ends of it when my phone rings. “Arrrg!” I groan and go to see who’s calling. 

“I’m going to go take a shower,” Cardan calls as he walks to his bathroom. “I’m too sweaty from our little duel.” 

Vivienne’s name shows on my screen, so I answer it. “Hello?” I ask, annoyed. 

“Oh my goodness, what happened last night?” she says quickly. “Everyone was freaking out worried about you.”

“I just couldn’t be in the same house as him,” I reply, meaning Madoc. 

She sighs. “Yeah, I couldn’t do it either… I’ve been calling and texting you.” 

“My phone was on silent, it just now rang,” I explain. 

“Alright, but you shouldn’t have disappeared last night. You could have at least texted us that you were okay.” 

“Sorry… I was a little preoccupied.”

“Ohhhhh,” she lets out. “How is the boy toy anyways?”

“Cardan is fine.”

“Did you guys have sex last night?” 

“What?” I blurt out. 

“C’mon. It’s a reasonable question. I mean, you almost did in the Chemistry classroom,” she responds dryly. 

“If you must know,” I say, embarrassed. “No, we didn’t. Things do seem to be going in that direction though…” 

“Oh my gosh! This is too priceless, like two days ago you were claiming to be enemies and now you’re dating,” she laughs uproariously. 

“Shut up,” I complain. “We haven’t decided to date yet.”

“What?” she’s actually surprised. 

“Well, we’re trying it out today. Cardan has different dates planned,” I explain to her. 

“What?” she seems offended. “He didn’t call me. How are you supposed to know how he acts on a double date?” 

“Is that important?” 

“Very. You’ll be double dating with me and Heather often, so you need to know that he won’t act like an ass, which is very possible,” she pauses for a moment, as if in thought. “I know! You two will meet me and Heather tonight at the Furry Taco at 6:30 for dinner.” 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”

“Of course it is! I’ll see you then,” she hangs up and I’m left sitting alone on Cardan’s bed. 

Cardan comes out of the bathroom in only a towel. His hair drips messily and he grabs some clothes from his armoire. He notices me staring and he smirks, “quit drooling, Jude.” 

“I’m not drooling,” I declare. “I’m just observing.” 

A knock comes from the door and Cardan looks at a clock on the wall. “Perfect timing.” 

“For what?” I inquire. 

“Lunch.” 

He brings in a tray with various meats, cheeses, and crackers. He sets it on his coffee table and I go over to inspect it. He then gets two glasses and a bottle of wine and sets it next to the tray. “Do you have a servant working for you or something? Someone to bring you anything and everything you desire?” I question him while I investigate the cheese cutting knife. 

“It’s one of the perks of being me,” he replies smugly with a wink. 

“You’re ridiculous. By the way,” I add. “We have to meet Vivienne and Heather for dinner tonight at the Furry Taco.”

“Absolutely not,” he states. 

I turn around on the couch, knife still in hand, and watch him pull on his pair of pants. “Why not?” 

“A double date? Seems kind of lame.” 

“Ugh,” I groan. “Why do you have to be so cool all the time? It’s okay to like something involving other people.” 

“I do. I like doing things with you,” he faces me with a cheeky grin.

“Well, I’m going to be there.” 

“I like to do things with only you.” 

“We’re going tonight.” 

“No, we’re not.” 

“Yes, we are.” 

“No.” 

I fling the knife across the room and it cuts into the armoire right next to Cardan’s face. “We are going tonight, be ready to leave at 6:30.”

“Shit, Jude!” he yells. “You could have killed me.” 

“You forget who I was raised by. If I wanted to kill you, I would have,” I turn back around and eat a cracker. 

I hear him yank the knife out of the wardrobe with a thud. He walks over to my couch and sits down. He cuts some cheese up and pours us both a glass of wine. “This meal is so pretentious,” I claim. 

“Wow, that one hurts. This is my favorite thing to eat, cheese and fine wine.”

“Well, you’re pretentious,” I add with a shrug. 

He puts his hands on his chest as if he’s been stabbed. “You’re killing me, Jude,” he says with mock hurt. 

We finish the eating and he puts the empty tray outside of his door. “Okay,” he says while sitting back down on the couch. “You’ve beaten me with a sword, thrown a knife at my head, and insulted my favorite thing to eat. Will you please tell me why you aren’t at home right now?” 

“Wouldn’t you rather do this?” I push him back on the couch, more confident in myself and kiss his neck. 

He moans slowly and grabs onto my waist. I kiss his lips and then suck on his neck. I move my hands to the edge of his shirt when he lightly pushes me away. “Why are you dodging this question?” he asks softly. 

I lay my head on his chest and listen to his breathing. 

“Madoc wants me to marry you,” I reveal. 

I can feel his breath hitch in surprise. “Is that so terrible?” 

“He wants me to marry you, so he can get the benefits of being a Greenbriar,” I explain. “He’s apparently been planning this for years. He originally intended Taryn to be with you, but she’s obsessed with Locke. Oh, but was he happy to learn that I apparently have you wrapped around my finger, so that I could manipulate you into a marriage and out of all of your money.” 

“You kind of do have me wrapped around your finger,” he answers in a joking tone. 

“This isn’t funny, Cardan,” I scold. “I was really worried that if I told you, you would think that I’m only here to make Madoc happy.” 

He kisses me on the forehead. “Trust me, Jude. You telling me that solidifies that you’re here because you want to be with me- nothing else.” 

His words are sweet, but I feel guilt rising in me. Dain telling me to get Cardan to trust me rushes through my mind. I wish to tell Cardan the truth about Dain, but I don’t want to betray The Shadows. 

Instead of thinking more about it, I press a kiss to Cardan’s lips and lay my head back down onto his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo I hoped you liked this mostly fluffy chapter. Cause I didn’t think I was like this, but I guess I write a lot of fluff. *shrug*
> 
> Anyways. Things are heating up with Jurdan and it’s kind of cute. I’m thinking about getting a little smutty. So thoughts?
> 
> Also, I hated that Jude lost to Cardan in their last duel, cause that would never happen, so I just needed to set the record straight. 
> 
> Okayyy! Good vibes to all of you! Thanks for the kudos and comments.
> 
> Stay safe <3


	15. Chapter 15

“Dinner at 6:30, right?” Cardan asks. 

“Yep,” I respond. 

“Great,” he grumbles while getting up from the couch, despite my protests. “We have enough time for another part of our date.”

He grabs the TV remote and returns to the couch. “What would be the next part?”

“A movie date, of course,” he replies as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Okay,” I settle myself back on his chest. “What movie are we to be watching?” 

“The Princess Bride.” 

I groan as he pulls the movie up on the screen. “We’ve already watched this movie.” 

“Correction, I’ve already watched this movie. In case you forgot, you fell asleep ten minutes into the it,” he corrects. 

“Can we watch something else?” 

“Nope, this movie has everything: romance, comedy, death, poison. Most important for you, Jude dear, it has a fair amount of sword fighting.”

“I suppose you’re right,” I grumble as the movie starts.

“I know I am,” he says smugly. 

After the movie ends, we sit and talk to each other until 20 minutes before we need to be at the taco place. “We need to go to my dorm room,” I tell Cardan as we leave his. 

“Why is that?” 

“Look at what I’m wearing,” I motion to the large dress shirt of his and leggings. “I can’t wear this, I look like a hobo.” 

He stops me right before we reach the doors that will lead out to the lawn. “I can fix that.” 

Cardan unbuttons some of the bottom buttons and ties it into a knot that pulls the shirt shortly at my waist. He then pulls my hair into a bun on top of my head. I see my reflection in the glass door and frown at how good this actually looks. “I hate you.” 

“Why?” he laughs as we start to walk to the parking lot. 

“Why do you have to be good at everything?” I pause. “Well, not at everything. You absolutely suck at fencing.” 

“Ouch. Thanks for the compliment, nonetheless, I am good at everything.”

We reach the parking lot and he leads me to his car: a black BMW convertible. “This is a nice car,” I remark as I sit down in the passenger seat. 

“It was a gift from my dad when I turned 16 and moved in with Balekin full time,” he tells me. 

“Well, it’s a nice gift.” 

“Wasn’t nice enough to make up for Balekin.” 

I want to ask Cardan more about his older brother and his family, but he’s begun driving and he becomes tense when the subject of Balekin comes up. 

In no time at all, we arrive at the Furry Taco and Vivienne's car is outside the restaurant. Her and Heather get out of the car when they see Cardan and I arrive. “Cardan Greenbriar, how are you, my friend?” Vivienne says to Cardan. 

“Life couldn’t possibly be better,” he responds while putting his arm around my shoulder and guiding me into the restaurant. 

We take a seat at our favorite booth, tacos in hand. “How have you been, Jude, since last night?” Heather asks me. 

“Me? How have you guys been? Madoc was such a jerk to you. I would say that he’s not normally like this, but…” I answer back. 

“Oh, we’re doing fine,” she replies. “It was hard for my parents when I first brought a girl home too, so I knew what to expect. Also, Vivi warned me about how hardcore Madoc could be, but it did take me by surprise. I couldn’t imagine being raised by him, especially after what happened to your parents.” 

“Yeah, it was a tough transition,” I say quietly as Cardan grabs my hand under the table. The subject of my parents is still raw.

“What made you storm out?” Viv asks with a raised eyebrow. “Taryn told me that you ran out of the house in a blazing ball of fury.” 

“Oh, well-”

“Madoc asked her to marry me,” Cardan chimes into the conversation for the first time. “And naturally, she got upset at the very idea of that, so she ran.”

“Yeah, ran right into your awaiting arms,” Viv snorts out. “Sounds like Jude isn’t too opposed to the idea of marrying you.” 

“So it seems,” Cardan smirks and I give them both warning looks. 

Heather, my savior, changes the subject by talking about her latest comic idea that she had in a dream: the story of a magical kingdom ran by faeries. 

We’re about to leave, when I see Heather and Vivienne’s attention focus on the front of the restaurant. Cardan and I both turn to see Locke and Taryn ordering. “Ugh, let’s get out of here,” I mumble. 

Cardan and I begin to make our move out of the booth, but Locke is too quick. He stands at the head of our table mischievously. “How are you fine people doing tonight? We missed you this morning at brunch, Jude. The family was quite worried about your little temper tantrum you had last night.” 

“Why don’t you just get lost, Locke?” Cardan says before I can. He puts his arm around me and leans back into the booth as if he were bored. 

“Well, we were right, honey,” Locke voices as Taryn grabs onto his hand. “She went right to him, like we predicted, and she’s with your other sister. Madoc will be so thrilled.” 

“So?” I spit at him. “At least Vivienne and I know when to get out, maybe you should be taking notes, Taryn.” 

Cardan traces circles on the back of my neck, calming me. “How about,” he says in a soothing voice, “you and Taryn take this booth? We were just about to leave, weren’t we?”

“Yes, we were,” Vivienne adds and exits the booth first with Heather. Cardan and I follow the two out the door. 

We say our goodbyes in the parking lot and drive our separate ways. “He’s so infuriating,” I grumble once Cardan and I are alone. “And so controlling, Taryn hates that restaurant. She just does whatever he says.” 

Cardan nods his head along with my mumbling and drives us back to campus. I’m still angry as we walk back to his room, but it all disappears as soon as I open the door. 

Candles light the room and a small table has been placed in the middle with a bouquet of roses and some chocolate cake. “Cardan? Did you plan this?” 

“Of course,” he says, leading me to sit down. “It’s the final part of our date, and also why I didn’t want to go to dinner tonight with your sister.” 

“You just wanted it to be the two of us…” 

He nods. “But now we have dessert,” he says with a smile while feeding me a bite of the cake. 

We finish the cake and take a seat on one of his couches, the fire is roaring and everything in the room exudes romance and love. “So, did I pass?” Cardan whispers into my ear. 

I give him a long slow kiss. “With flying colors,” I tell him before kissing him again. “Everything about this day was perfect from breakfast, to me kicking your ass, to the candlelit dessert.” 

“Can I call you my girlfriend now?” 

I nod my head and he gets up from the couch and grabs something from his bedside table. He brings me a little black box and I open it. Inside is a crown necklace just like the one I gave him for his birthday, except silver instead of gold. 

“Cardan,” I breathe out. “It’s perfect.” 

“Well,” he says with a smirk. “You love calling me a prince, so I thought I would return the favor by dubbing you a princess. Consider it your official ‘congrats, you’re my girlfriend’ necklace.” 

I laugh and kiss him before he latches it around my neck. “Thank you, Prince Cardan.” 

“You’re welcome, Princess Jude.” 

He gets up from the couch and lays in his bed as I take a quick shower. I put on another one of his shirts and emerge from his bathroom encompassed in his aroma. 

I lay down next to him and kiss him on the neck, he moans and I take that as a good sign. I straddle him and continue to suck on his neck, slowly moving my lips lower and onto his bare chest. 

He grabs a hold of my chin and brings my lips to his. He kisses me slowly at first, but it grows passionate and hungry. His tongue slips into my mouth and fights me for control. My hips begin to grind against his and he flips me over aggressively. 

Cardan places his arms at the sides of my head, caging me in. He pulls his lips from mine and kisses my jawline softly before moving down to my neck. I let out a moan and begin to feel myself unravel at his touch. 

His fingers trace down my body until he reaches my underwear where he begins to gently rub circles on the outside. 

I hesitate softly, I’ve bet gone this far with someone before. I don’t know if I’m ready to let someone else have that kind of control over me. 

He notices my hesitation and stops. “We don’t have to continue, Jude,” he tells me.

“No-“ I blush under his lustful eyes. “I like what was happening. I just haven’t done anything like this before. I don’t know if I’m ready to go all the way...” 

Cardan nods in understanding and his fingers begin circling again, cashing shudders to roll through me. “We won’t go all the way tonight, but I do want you to be satisfied. We’ll take it slow.” 

He slips a finger under my underwear. “Is this alright?” he asks. 

“Yes,” I breathe out slowly as one of his fingers begin to rub my clit. 

I bite my lip in attempt to stop a moan, but it escapes anyways. He slips off my underwear fully and continues to dances his fingers up and down my slits. 

He kisses me and enters a finger inside of me. I arch my back and moan even louder. Another finger slips in as his thumb still rubs my clit. 

His fingers curl inside of me and he pumps them in and out slowly. He finds a rhythm and his fingers go faster and faster in and out of me. I grind and move my hips against him as he slips a third finger inside of me. 

I feel an orgasm rise as he pumps even faster and I come while moaning out his name. 

He pulls his fingers from me and licks them while I watch. “Is there something that I can do for you?” I ask him and look to his crotch. 

Cardan shakes his head and kisses me deeply. “I’m good, my sweet. You gave me everything I needed.” 

He lays myself next to me and wraps his arms around me. 

“You’re perfect, Jude,” he whispers into my ears before sleep takes us both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii! I hoped you liked this chapter! I have a lot more planned for this story, so thanks for coming back! 
> 
> I think I might change the rating because of the smut and also, they’re both over 18 in this. I decided that Jude is 18 and Cardan is 19. Just letting you guys know. 
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments! The next chapter will be out soon!


	16. Chapter 16

Cardan and I chill in his dorm room all day on Monday. I’ve gotten better at his gory video games, and we spend most of the day playing them; however, I do convince him to go on a run with me, and he convinces me to take some spare clothes back to his dorm room. Cardan throws out the things from Nicasia’s drawer to make room for mine. 

That night we’re settling in. Cardan lounges in his bed with his arms behind his head while I look at the various drawings he has above his desk. Most of his drawings are of a faerie land, although there are several portraits of both himself and me. All involving us in crowns on a throne. They are quite good, and I’m mad at myself for underestimating his talent. “These are so good, Cardan.”

“Ugh,” he groans. “Don’t look at them, come to bed.” 

“Why do you always draw yourself with a tale?” I ask, ignoring his complaints. 

He shrugs and sits up. “I don’t know. I think it would be cool to hit people with it.” 

I let out a giggle. “Really? That’s your reason.” 

“What?”

I walk over to his bed and get under the covers. “Well, I think that you would absolutely hate having a tale.” 

He turns off his lamp and pulls me close to him. “You’re probably right.” Cardan kisses me on the forehead. “You’re so great, Jude. I feel like I finally have someone I can count on.” 

Guilt washes over me as I think of my connection to Dain, and his request of me. 

“Cardan…” 

He mumbles in return. 

“There’s something I have to tell you,” I whisper into the darkness. “I work for Dain, and he’s assigned me to watch over you.” 

Cardan doesn’t reply. 

I look at him. His eyes are closed and his breathing is heavy with sleep. He didn’t hear my confession. I’ll tell him tomorrow, I promise to myself as sleep takes me too. 

The next morning Cardan and I get ready for school together. He takes an ungodly amount of time getting dressed while I sleep in and then rush to look presentable. “You should have just gotten out of bed when I did,” he complains to me as we leave his dorm room. “You wouldn’t have been so rushed.” 

“I like rushing through my morning routine, it’s a fun challenge,” I counter. 

We reach Mr. Scott’s class hand in hand. The Ghost sits in his seat and I sit down next to him with a light protest from Cardan. “But you’re my girlfriend,” he complains as he sits on my desk and swings his legs. “You should be sitting next to me.” 

Other students filter into the room, including Locke. “Girlfriend?” he asks with a cocked eyebrow. 

“Yes, Jude Duarte is my girlfriend,” Cardan says with a smirk while announcing it to the whole class. “We’ve made it official.” 

“Will you shut up?” I exclaim. “There is no need to make a big fuss about this. Just go sit in your seat before I make you.” 

“I can move if you want,” The Ghost suggests. 

Cardan’s eyes light up, but I shut him down. 

“No thank you, Garrett. Cardan is completely capable of breathing without me right next to him,” I shove him gently off the desk and he begrudgingly takes a seat next to a watchful Locke. 

“When did this happen? And when were you planning on telling The Shadows?” The Ghost asks as soon as Cardan is out of earshot. 

“It just happened this weekend,” I tell him as Mr. Scott begins to teach. 

“You could have told me.” 

“Well, I’m telling you now,” I say with a smile, and I begin to focus on the lesson in front of me. 

Cardan and I walk to our next class, hand in hand. He grins like a little boy on Christmas the entire way there while I simply roll my eyes at his behavior. 

Fourth hour comes around and I enter the basement classroom with accusing glances. “What?” I exclaim as I set my stuff down. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” The Bomb exclaims. 

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” I respond with a shrug. 

The Roach huffs in contempt. 

“Of course it is a big deal!” The Bomb continues. “You have a boyfriend, and we all had to find out from second hand sources.” 

“Not just any boyfriend,” The Roach adds. “A boyfriend that is quite literally your assignment from Dain.” 

“Don’t remind me,” I mumble. 

“So, it’s definitely a big deal,” The Ghost chimes in. “Key information, Jude, key information.” 

I groan. “You guys are killing me. This whole Shadows thing is ridiculous. Can’t I like a boy without you needing to know every single thing about it.” 

“Not when it’s-” The Roach tries. 

“Not when it’s my assignment, right?” I cut him off with anger. “I’m going to tell him about his whole thing anyway.” 

“What whole thing?” The Roach asks with caution. 

“The Shadows, Dain, my so called assignment. All of it. I don’t want to lie to him,” I explain to them. 

Their eyes fill with shock and fear. “You cannot do that,” The Ghost says. “The three of us haven’t told anyone about this, not even our most trusted allies. You can’t ruin this for us.” 

“I’m not going to ruin this for us, Cardan won’t tell anyone. I just want him to trust me.” 

They look at me with worry before turning to their computer screens. 

We walk to lunch in an awkward silence. As soon as we reach the cafeteria, Cardan spots me and motions for me to sit by him. Wanting to get away from the sulking Shadows, I walk to his table quickly. Cardan sits with Nicasia, Valerian, and other people from the party I went to. 

“Hello, my sweet,” Cardan greets me with a quick kiss as I take my seat next to him. 

“What is this?” Valerian asks with indignation while motioning between us. 

“Jude here,” Cardan responds with a smile, “is my girlfriend.” 

“It’s about time,” Nicasia mumbles quietly. 

“Well,” Jameson adds warmly. “I’m so happy for the two of you. I just know that you are perfect for each other.” 

I smile and try to ignore Valerian’s malicious glare from the other side of the table. Cardan feeds me a bite of his apple, and we focus on Nicasia’s retelling of her weekend. 

Next hour, Cardan and I sit next to each other and we attempt to listen to the teacher, but Cardan rubs circles on the back of my hand, causing me to lose my concentration. Half way through the class period, we are interrupted. A knock comes from the back, and we all turn to see Dain standing in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt,” he announces in his charming voice. “I need to borrow one of your students.” 

Cardan turns away with an exasperated eye roll. 

“Jude Duarte,” Dain says. “Please come with me.” 

Cardan faces me with concern and confusion and then looks towards a relaxed Dain. “What does he want with you?” Cardan whispers to me as I gather my things. 

I shrug and leave the classroom. I follow Dain to his office where he shuts the door and closes the blinds. “What can I do for you?” I ask, unsettled. 

“I’ve received some troubling news today, Jude,” he begins as he sits down across from me at his monstrous desk. “I’ve heard that you want to tell Cardan about my Shadows.” 

“Yes, but-”

“This will not do at all,” he says sternly, cutting me off. “If I hear of you telling anyone anything, even the smallest thing, about my Court of Shadows and your assignments, you will be expelled from Greenbriar Academy.” 

“There are other schools,” I reply, keeping my voice stern. I don’t want Dain to know that he has any control over me. 

“Not only will I expel you, I will ruin your future. You want to go to Columbia, correct?” 

I nod my head. 

“Well, Jude, I’m a very powerful man. Your future decisions will determine whether I call the board of admissions at Columbia and sway whether or not you get in. Trust me, if I want something I get it. It won’t only be at Columbia, I’ll call every school that you applied for and make sure that you won’t get in until you have no options but to live with Madoc for the rest of your life.”

I’m speechless. He tells me to leave and his threats continue to ring in my ear as I make my way back to class and sit back down next to a very concerned Cardan. “What did he want?” he asks me. 

“Nothing too major,” I reply, trying to sound casual. “Just some stuff with my college applications.”

Cardan nods, but he still seems worried. 

That night, Cardan and I hang out in his dorm room while he drinks wine and I struggle through my calculus homework. Eventually, I finish it without Cardan’s help. 

“Will you please let me help you next time?” he complains. “So we can actually do something fun together.” 

“Do what? Play video games?” I return while checking the time. “Shit! It’s 10 o’clock.” 

“So?” 

“I need to get back to my dorm room,” I tell him while packing my stuff into my backpack. 

“What?” he exclaims with surprise. “Why would you do that?” 

I roll my eyes and stand up. “I can’t live here, Cardan. This isn’t my room, and I don’t have everything I need here.” 

“That can be arranged,” he remarks while walking alongside me to the door. 

“I’m not moving in with you, we’ve only been dating for like 48 hours,” I open the door and turn to face him. “Goodnight, Cardan.” 

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his chest. I grab onto his hair as his lips fall onto mine with a long slow goodbye kiss. “Goodnight, my sweet girlfriend.” 

I begrudgingly leave his warm embrace and begin to exit Insear Hall. “Text me when you get there!” he calls out as I leave the building. 

Campus is dark and quiet, and I walk slowly to avoid security. It’s after curfew, so I don’t want to be seen by any staff members. As I get closer to my dormitory, I hear soft footsteps behind me. I begin to walk faster, and the footsteps quicken their pace as well. 

I look over my shoulder to see a dark looming figure following me. “Hello?” I call out. “Cardan?” 

The figure responds by walking faster towards me. I realize that I’m going to have to take action, so I grab my keys on my chain and put them between my knuckles. The body reaches me and I stiffen into a muted fighting stance. “No, not Cardan,” he grumbles to me. 

I recognize the voice instantly and relax slightly. “Valerian?” 

Valerian takes his hood off and looks down on me hatefully. “You shouldn’t be with Cardan,” he asserts. 

“Why is that?” I reply. 

“You shouldn’t be at this school.” 

He lunges at me, but I dodge his attack. I slide around him and we’re standing in each other’s original spots. “Valerian, I don’t want to do this.” 

“You’re just an orphan. You don’t deserve to have everything handed to you.” 

“Oh yeah? Like you have to work for everything you have. Your family owns three yachts!” I exclaim. 

“You’re nothing but dirt.” 

He swings on me with his fist and I duck under it and attack him the same way, drawing blood from my keys still in my knuckles. I attempt to punch him again, but Valerian is ready for it. 

The brute grabs my fist and punches me in the stomach. I stumble back from the blow as Valerian stalks towards me quickly. He punches me in the face and I crumble to the ground. I can feel blood run down my face as Valerian kicks me in the ribs. He backs up. “Get up, orphan. Get up!” he yells at me joyfully. 

I manage to put my feet under me again and ignore the throbbing pain. I duck under his swinging arms and punch him in the face again before he grabs me. He grabs onto my neck and chokes me. I’m beginning to lose consciousness when I hear a voice from behind me. 

“Jude!” it yells. “Valerian, let her go!” 

I’m tossed to the ground and I see Cardan punch my attacker in the face before he turns and runs away from us.

“Jude,” Cardan cries out as he leans down to me. He puts his hands on the side of my face and looks into my barely open eyes. “Jude, you’re going to be okay… you’re going to be okay… Jude…” 

I’m lifted into the air by strong arms and the world goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy! Sorry it took a fat minute for me to write and post this chapter. I hoped you enjoyed the update though!
> 
> Well, we’ve got an injured Jude. :( but don’t worry, Cardan will take care of her. I know this was highly requested. Also, Dain sucks. Jude wants to tell Cardan so her motives are clean, but you know... college and stuff. 
> 
> Anyways... hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than this one. I’ve just been binge watching a lot of Vampire Diaries, so I was distracted by Damon. 
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos! They are much loved.
> 
> Stay safe <3


	17. Chapter 17

“Are you sure that it was Valerian?” a voice asks. 

“Yes, Dain. Why would I lie?” an angry Cardan responds. 

I hear Dain sigh. “You haven’t always been the most honest.” 

“You have to do something about this. He can’t get away with this,” Cardan’s voice is flustered and I can tell that his frustration is rising. 

My eyelids flutter as I open them, revealing to me that I’m lying in Cardan’s bed. I can see two figures standing seriously by his fireplace. I begin to sit up and pain shoots throughout my entire body. “Uggghhh. Fuck,” I groan. 

“Woah,” a calm voice comes from my side. The Bomb reaches her arms out to me and steadies me. 

Cardan hears me and rushes quickly to my side. His eyes are red and his hair is wildly pulled all over his head, as if he’s tugging on it for a while. 

“Jude,” he takes The Bomb’s seat and my hand at the same time. He fixes my pillow against his headboard and helps me into a sitting condition. “How are you feeling?” 

I press my palm against my throbbing head. “Like shit. What happened?” 

“Valerian attacked you,” he replies cautiously. 

“I remember that. What happened after?” 

“Valerian ran away, but I brought you back here.” 

I look around the rest of the room to see The Ghost talking to Dain by the fireplace. The Roach and The Bomb are propped against a wall close to the door, whispering to each other very quietly. 

“Why are they here?” I ask Cardan motioning to The Shadows around the room.

“I needed some backup when taking care of you, and I thought that you would want some friends here when you woke up,” he explains to me. 

I nod my head and look at The Ghost who turns to me. He gives me a wink and a smile before Dain walks away from him toward the door.

“I’ll clean up your mess, Cardan. Don’t worry,” Dain declares as he opens Cardan’s door. He then turns to me. “Get well soon, Jude.” 

He exits the room in a huff and slams the door. 

“What an asshole,” Cardan mumbles to himself. He reaches to his nightstand and grabs a glass of water and some pain medicine. He hands it to me, which I take graciously. 

“What time is it?” I ask after swallowing the pill. 

“It’s a little after 8,” The Roach says as the three of them walk closer to the bed. 

“Shit,” I start to move out of bed. “I need to get to school.” 

Cardan firmly pushes me back against the pillow. “You’re not going anywhere, Jude. You need to rest.” 

“He’s right. You got pummelled last night,” The Ghost says to me with sympathetic eyes. 

“Hey,” I say with mock offense and a smile. “I held my own. He was the first to start bleeding.” 

“Jude,” Cardan grabs my chin and looks into my eyes. “This is serious. Valerian could have killed you. I need you to be safe. I don’t know what I would do if you- if someone were to-”

I cut him off with a short kiss. 

“Why were you even out there?” The Roach asks, ending Cardan and I’s moment. 

“I was walking back to my dorm room. Didn’t Cardan tell you?” I respond. 

He rolls his eyes in annoyance. “Yes, that much was obvious. But why were you outside? There are tunnels that lead to every building.” 

“What?” I exclaim. 

“Are you serious?” Cardan asks with the same confusion. “How do you know this?” 

The Roach shrugs. “I thought this was common knowledge. If you look into any history of the school- literally any- you can easily find maps of all the tunnels. There’s one that leads out of this very room.” 

I look between the three Shadows. “Did you all know about this?” 

“Of course,” The Bomb replies. “I assumed most people did.” 

“Where’s the one in this room?” Cardan asks curiously. 

The Roach motions for Cardan to follow him, and he does. They walk over to the armoire. The Roach opens it up and moves the back paneling to reveal a dimly lit tunnel. Cardan is distracted by his new discovery, so I turn to The Bomb and The Ghost. “Why didn’t you guys tell me about the tunnels? That seems like something a spy should know about.”

They both shrug innocently. “I guess we assumed that you already knew about it. It would have come up eventually,” The Ghost replies. 

“Well,” The Bomb begins. “The three of us should be getting to school. We don’t have a pass like the two of you.” 

As she makes her suggestion, my head throbs painfully. “Ahhh!” I groan and press my hand up against my forehead. 

Cardan immediately rushes to my side with worry. “What’s the problem?” 

“My head hurts. I guess the medicine hasn’t kicked in yet,” I grieve. 

“I’ll get you a cold towel,” he rushes away to the bathroom and my attention turns to my three friends standing by Cardan’s door. 

“Dain told us about your conversation,” The Ghost says. “He isn’t your enemy, Jude. We all want the same thing here. Trust us, if you take care of him, he’ll take care of you. Don’t cross him. We don’t want to see you get hurt.” 

Cardan returns to the room and the three of them leave with a quick goodbye. Cardan places the towel on my head and gives me some toast to nibble on. “This is ridiculous,” I say to him. “I’m fine. Just a little scratched up.” 

“No,” he says sternly. “Not a little scratched up. Seriously hurt. You need to go see a doctor. You probably have a concussion, broken bones, internal bleeding, a-” 

I cut him off again with a kiss. 

“Don’t be so dramatic, Cardan. I’m fine.” 

“No, you’re not, but for some, it’s completely normal to have denial after going through something traumatic.” 

“Again with the traumatics.” 

“Jude,” he sighs. “I need you to be safe. If spending the last 72 hours with you has taught me anything, it’s that I wouldn’t be able to function if anything were to happen to you. Especially if it’s my fault.” 

“This wasn’t your fault,” I tell him. 

“Yes, it was. If I hadn’t become friends with Valerian. Or if I hadn’t rubbed in his face that I was so happy with you. Or if I hadn’t been so cruel to you for some many years-” 

“Cardan,” I have to cut off his rambling again. “This wasn’t your fault. Nobody controls Valerian’s actions. He’s a terrible person and that has nothing to do with anyone else. If it wasn’t me last night, it was going to be someone else.” 

He nods solemnly. 

I pat the bed beside me and slowly move to lay down again. “Come and sleep, Cardan. It looks like you’ve been up all night.” 

“I have,” he mumbles while walking around to the other side of the bed. He tucks himself around me and soon we both drift off into sleep. 

We both awaken when someone knocks on the door. The clock reads 12:00. “It’s lunch,” Cardan utters sleepily. 

He gets out of bed and walks slowly to the door. He gets the awaiting tray off of the ground and brings it over to the bed. “Chicken noodle soup, madame,” he displays it proudly, and I can’t help but giggle. 

Cardan insists on feeding me every bite of my meal, telling me that I’m too weak and shouldn’t over do it. My head still hurts slightly and I’m enjoying him being at my beck and call, so I allow him to pamper me. 

“How did you know to come and rescue me?” I ask between mouthfuls. 

“You didn’t text me to tell me that you had made it and it doesn’t take very long to walk between our dormitories. I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer. So, I knew something was wrong. I ran out of my building and down the sidewalk to see… to see you…” his voice cracks and his eyes drip with sadness. 

I grab his hand and squeeze it. “I’m okay.” 

“You’re okay,” he repeats like a prayer. 

We finish lunch quickly after that. “Let’s watch a movie,” I suggest. 

Cardan nods his head in agreement and gets out of bed and walks to the coffee table and grabs the TV remote. While he’s distracted in choosing the movie, I slide my legs out of bed and attempt to stand on unsteady legs. 

I take a couple of steps before Cardan sees me out of bed. My legs begin to wobble with pain and Cardan rushes to my side. He reaches me and catches me right before I fall to the ground.

“Dammit, Jude,” he bellows. “Why did you get out of bed?” 

“We’re watching a movie,” I explain while rolling my eyes. “Your bed is too far away, and I thought I could make it to the couch.” 

He scoops me up into his arms and carries me to the couch where he lays me down on it gently. 

“Next time just tell me before you want to move,” he complains as he sits in front of me on the floor. 

I run my hands through his hair and watch the movie. 

A little after the movie ends, there’s another knock at the door before the person barges in. I turn my head to see Vivienne blaze into the room and to my side. 

“How are you? Are you okay?” Viv asks with concern. 

“You told Vivienne?” I complain to Cardan. “I told you, I’m fine. There’s no need to make a big fuss over this. You’re overreacting.” 

“Your fine?” Vivienne asks with hope. “Did the doctor give you the all clear?” 

“She doesn’t want to go to a doctor,” Cardan tells her. 

Vivienne turns to me with an angry expression. “You’re going to a doctor, Jude. This is non negotiable.” 

“I’m not going. I feel fine,” I tell them stubbornly, but they completely ignore me and whisper to each other a plan.

Vivienne gets on the phone with a clinic and Cardan scoops me into his arms again. 

“Put me down! I’m not going,” I assert, but my objections are completely ignored as Cardan walks me to the parking lot and puts me in Vivienne’s car. 

Viv drives us to the doctor’s office, and we soon learn that I have a mild concussion and a couple of bruised ribs. 

After getting us some tacos, Vivienne drops Cardan and I off and soon we’re alone in his dark dorm room. 

“See,” he says in an arrogant voice. “I told you that we needed to go to the doctor.” 

“Yeah,” I complain. “You didn’t need to drag my older sister into it though. Now my whole family is going to know I got beat up by some idiot.” 

“Wait- did you just admit I was right about going to the doctor?” he says with a smile. 

“Shut up,” I reply while laying down in bed and closing my eyes. 

He lays down next to me and I press against a kiss against his lips and lay on his chest. 

“Thanks for helping me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiii. I hope y’all vibed with this chapter. I know a lot of people requested and injured Jude, so there we go. I hope it wasn’t terrible. 
> 
> Anywayyyys kinda hate Dain but whatever. Also I don’t think we’ve seen that last of Valerian. *shrugs* it seems like I only wanna right fluff which is weird for me. 
> 
> Thanks everyone for all of the comments and kudos. Much love given. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	18. Chapter 18

Under doctor’s orders, I stay home from school the rest of the week. Cardan dotes upon me like I can’t do anything while I stew in his dorm room. He won’t even let me do my homework, he insists on doing everything for me. “Can we please do something today?” I beg him Saturday morning. 

“Cuddling on the couch while I sip on wine sounds like fun,” he responds with a smirk while burying his head in my neck. 

“I’m serious. I can’t stay in this room anymore.” 

“Why not? It’s beautiful,” he says playfully.

Ignoring him, I look around the room and spot his wardrobe. “I have the most perfect idea!” I exclaim. 

He lifts his head up. “And that would be?” 

“Let’s explore the tunnels beneath campus, so I can travel back to my dorm without you freaking out,” I suggest. 

He raises his eyebrow in thought. “That actually sounds like a good idea.” 

“Great!” I jump out of his bed. “I’ll text The Ro- Rupert and ask him to send me a map.” 

I go to his closet and change into leggings and one of his sweatshirts. As I’m brushing my hair, Cardan comes from behind me and lightly wraps his arms around me. He presses a kiss to the top of my head and pulls me close. “Promise me Jude, that if you start to feel faint, you’ll let me bring you back here,” he murmurs into my ear. 

“I promise,” I reply instantly. 

He doesn’t seem convinced, so I turn around to face him. “I’m serious, Cardan. If I start feeling bad, I’ll tell you.” 

Relief floods his eyes and I press a light kiss to his lips. He gets dressed as I examine the map The Roach sent me. 

“This isn’t going to be an all day thing, Jude,” Cardan warns before we’re about to leave. “We’re going in for a bit and coming back so you can rest.” 

“Fine,” I reply with an eye roll. I push back his clothes and move the back paneling in the armoire and climb through the dark hole. “I feel like we’re in Narnia.” 

“Careful,” Cardan says as he turns on his phone flashlight. “I don’t want the White Witch to get us.” 

The tunnel is dark, damp, and dirty; however, there is plenty of walking space. Cardan grabs onto my hand as we walk forward, leaving the light shining in from his wardrobe. 

Using the map that The Roach sent me, I’m able to maneuver us underground and to Insmire Hall. When we arrive at the dormitory, we discover that the tunnel is behind a large painting in the basement. Then Cardan and I go to my dorm room and grab a few things that I’ve been needing. 

Getting back to Cardan’s room is much faster than leaving it. I remember all the turns necessary and Cardan sighs when we’re seated on one of his couches again. “See,” I tell him. “That wasn’t bad at all.” 

“I suppose,” he mumbles. 

“I’ll be able to get all over campus safely with those tunnels,” I say. “Will you let me leave your dorm room without supervision now?” 

He puts his arm around me and kisses me deeply. 

“I’m going to take that as a yes because I’m getting out of this room with or without you,” I declare and kiss him again. 

Monday rolls around and- even though the doctor cleared me- it takes me a while to convince Cardan to let me go to school. “It’s going to be completely fine. Dain expelled Valerian, so everything will be okay,” I remind him as we walk into calculus. 

I sit down next to The Ghost and Cardan sits down on my desk. “Yeah, but-” 

“No buts-” I tell him. “We’ve been going back and forth with this all morning. I can take care of myself. You don’t need to hide me in your room.” 

He sighs and I grab his hand. “It’s not too late-” 

“I can handle myself.” 

Cardan nods his head and leaves me to sit in his seat as Locke walks into the room. He stops at my desk. “I hope you’re feeling better, Jude. I was sorry to hear that Valerian was expelled, but it was probably for the best. His actions were unacceptable.” 

“Thanks…” I reply cautiously. 

He then takes his seat next to Cardan. I turn to The Ghost, “why is he so weird?” 

“Locke or Cardan?” 

“Both,” I state. “Locke is manipulative and Cardan is so protective.” 

“I think Cardan is just being sweet, he just really cares about you,” he replies. “As for Locke… I don’t know what that was about.” 

Mr. Scott begins to teach and we turn our attention to him. 

The Shadows are already working in the basement when I arrive. “What’d I miss?” I ask while sitting down at my station. 

“Well,” The Roach begins. “We convinced Dain to expel Valerian.” 

“Yeah, I heard. Thanks for that,” I respond with a smile. 

“Unfortunately,” says The Bomb. “We haven’t found any damning evidence that Locke is selling drugs at school. He’s good. I mean, he’s flown under our radar for years apparently.” 

I sigh in annoyance that I’m going to have to deal with Locke even longer than I want to. “Any ideas about how to catch him? Maybe one of us can try to buy some?” I suggest. 

“We thought of that too,” The Ghost says. “However, we believe that he hasn’t been caught yet because he only sells to people that he trusts. I don’t think any of us would qualify.” 

I nod my head solemnly and try to think of new options. 

“There is one person who could qualify,” The Roach grumbles. 

“I think I know what you’re thinking,” The Ghost says. 

“Me too,” The Bomb adds. 

“Well I don’t!” I exclaim. 

“How would you feel about becoming friends with Locke?” The Roach asks me. 

“Absolutely not. I am not befriending that sociopath,” I retort. 

“Well, currently it’s our only option,” The Ghost persuades. “You won’t be real friends with him. Think of it as your way of taking him down.” 

“Great!” The Roach declares. “You’ll get Locke to be your friend and trust you.” 

I roll my eyes angrily. “Fine, I’ll do what I can. Cardan’s inner circle is hanging out tomorrow night.”

The following evening Cardan and I travel to Insweal Hall through the tunnels. Like Insmire Hall, the tunnel ended in the basement behind a large picture frame. “Who do you think built the tunnels?” I wonder aloud as Cardan and I get on the elevator. 

“Probably the Greenbriar that built school,” he replies. 

Most of the group is already lounging in the 4th floor common room when we eventually arrive. They see us get off the elevator and raise their glasses and cheer Cardan’s name. He leads me across the room and to the same loveseat that he sat at the first time I joined one of his parties. 

He sits down and pulls me next to him as someone brings him a glass of wine. Cardan puts his arm around my shoulders and takes a sip out of his glass. “Are you their king or something?” I ask in disbelief for their response to him. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You basically have a throne, they cheer when you enter, and someone was waiting to give you a glass of wine,” I tell him. 

He rolls his eyes and takes another sip. “Sure, I was the one who was able to set all of this up, but I don’t lead anyone. If anything, I’m just a prince. Certainly not a king.” 

“Well, alright Prince Cardan,” I say mockingly while I rise from the sofa. 

“Woah,” Cardan exclaims and grabs ahold of my hand. “Where are you going?” 

“I’m just going to get a drink,” I reply while rolling my eyes. “You’ll be able to see me the whole time, don’t worry.” 

I fix myself a rum and coke at the drink table and examine the room. Taryn is having a conversation with Luna by a fireplace, Nicasia has taken a seat next to Cardan, and Locke is walking in my direction. He begins to fix a drink and smiles at me while I try to hide my disdain. 

“How are you this evening, Jude?” he asks, breaking the ice. 

I want to snap at him, but I remember the plan The Shadows came up with. “I’m fine, Locke. How are you?” I reply while leaning up against the table. 

“I couldn’t be better,” he winks at me and I turn away in disgust. 

“Is there something that you want, Locke?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light. 

“Yes, actually,” he downs a shot. “I think that the two of us need to call a ceasefire for the sake of Taryn. It’s tearing her apart that she doesn’t see you anymore, and I want her to be happy. You know that I’m not going anywhere, so we should learn to get along.” 

I’m surprised. This was not what I was expecting to come out of his mouth. I think for a minute before replying, “I agree. We should get along for Taryn.” 

He’s visibly shocked, but it quickly goes away as he composes himself. I look in his eyes and see relief, but also mischief. We clink glasses and part our separate ways. 

I return to Cardan and sit myself in front of him on the floor. He runs his fingers along my scalp and says, “I thought you were just going to get a drink?” 

“I did just get a drink,” I respond, slightly annoyed. 

“What did Locke want?” he asks. 

“We decided that we should get along,” I tell him. 

“Mmmhhh,” he murmurs. “That doesn’t sound suspicious or unrealistic at all.” 

“Nope, it doesn’t,” I sip on my drink. “Where did Nicasia go?” 

He motions to the middle of the room where she’s dancing with a small group of people. I stand up and face Cardan, smiling. “Let’s dance,” I say while holding my hand out to him. 

“I don’t dance,” he responds. 

“You danced with me at Vivienne’s party.” 

“I don’t dance here.”

I lean down so I’m eye level with him and he cocks an eyebrow. I crush my lips onto his and slip my tongue in aggressively. I suck on his lower lip and pull away, leaving him breathless. “Well, I say you do.” 

I grab his hand and pull him off of his couch and onto the dance floor. “Dammit, Jude, you’re going to be the death of me,” he expresses into my ear causing my breath to hitch. 

We swing around the dancefloor (Cardan is graceful as ever) before he convinces me to take a break. We return to the loveseat and I manage to steal some of his wine before he sets it down. 

Cardan pulls me against him and presses a kiss to my lips hungrily. His hands grip at my waist and mine tangle in his hair. He moves his mouth down to my neck and sucks on my exposed collar bone. “Get a room,” a voice complains and I remember that we’re not alone. 

I pull my head away and look up to see Nicasia smirking down at us as heat rises to my cheeks. I scoot away from Cardan slightly, but he puts his arm around me, keeping me close to him. “Jealous, Nic?” Cardans asks smugly. 

“Please,” she responds with an eye roll. “Been there done that. I’m just glad to see that you moved on with the better sister, unlike my other ex.” 

She motions to Locke and Taryn sitting in a corner, and Cardan chuckles lowly.

“Jude, honey,” Nicasia says while turning her attention to me. “I hope that you’re doing okay. I never liked Valerian anyways.” 

“Me either,” I reply with a smile. 

“Seriously, are you okay?” she takes my hands. 

“Yes, I’m going to be just fine. Thanks to him,” I kiss Cardan on the cheek. 

“I am pretty amazing,” he declares. 

Nicasia and I both roll our eyes and the three of us listen to the music and talk about upcoming movies we want to see. 

We’re having a really good time until I see Valerian exit off of the elevator. I tense up as he greets a few people and Cardan notices. He follows my eyes and stands up immediately. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Cardan yells at him from across the room. I put my hand on Cardan’s arm to calm him down, but he shrugs me off. 

Valerian turns his attention to Cardan as someone turns the music down. “Cardan, my friend,” he walks to Cardan with a grin. 

“Don’t you dare call me your friend,” Cardan growls and pushes Valerian back when he reaches him. 

Valerian turns back to him with fire in his eyes. “I was coming here to apologize, but I guess your pretentious ass and orphan girlfriend won’t allow that.” 

“You’re just sorry that you got expelled.” 

Cardan throws the first punch and it hits Valerian square in the jaw. My whole body is still tense and my mind races faster and faster as I watch the two of them begin to kill each other. Valerian’s shallow breathing takes me back to that night. I cover my ears in shock and try to block out the noise of the fight. 

Valerian falls to the floor with a thud and Cardan is pulled back by Nicasia and Locke. I stand up from the couch, trying to hide my trembling and pull Cardan to me as some guys help Valerian to the elevator. 

“Don’t you ever show your face here again!” Cardan calls as the elevator doors close. 

I drag Cardan home after that and clean the cut Valerian caused on his eyebrow in his dorm room. 

“That wasn’t needed tonight,” I scold him as we lay down in his bed. 

“Yes it was,” he murmurs and pulls me against his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright... sorry guys! It took longer to write this chapter than I wanted it to. I hoped you liked it though. 
> 
> We still got a protective Cardan and a scheming Jude... even if it probably isn’t good for them. Also, I can’t wait for Jude to (hopefully) take down Locke. 
> 
> Thanks for reading this fanfic! I’m glad you guys keep coming back. I appreciate all the kudos and comments... they keep me motivated to write. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	19. Chapter 19

The next day I decide that I need to call a truce with Taryn now that Locke and I have come to an agreement. It’s been weeks since we’ve had a real conversation, and I miss her tremendously. I text both her and Vivienne that the three of us need to grab some dinner. 

At first she doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Vivienne is completely on board, but Taryn still didn’t want to talk to me. After bribing her with her favorite Greek restaurant, she agrees to meet the both of us at 6:30. 

I finish my homework quickly after school and by 6:15 Vivienne has texted me that she’s waiting in the parking lot for me. I’m walking out the door when Cardan calls out to me. “Where are you going?” 

“To dinner with my sisters,” I tell him while continuing to make my move out the door. 

He walks swiftly over to me and grabs onto the door. “Great, give me a couple minutes and I’ll be able to go with you.” 

“I think that you misheard me,” I roll my eyes in annoyance. “I’m going to dinner with my sisters. Not my sisters and annoying boyfriend who felt like tagging along.” 

“I don’t want you going out alone. Valerian could be on campus,” he growls. 

“You’re being ridiculous, Cardan. I can take care of myself; Valerian caught me by surprise the first time, I’ll be ready for him if he strikes again. I don’t need you by my side 24/7,” I push on the door, but his grip is rock hard. 

“Jude, let me go with you or you’re not going at all,” he states. 

“Is that so?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yes.” 

“Very well then,” I sigh. “I didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.” 

I grab onto his arm holding on to the door. Twisting it, I pin it against his back and push him against the wall. “You don’t own me, Cardan.”

“Okay, okay,” he gripes out through the pain. 

I let go of my grip on him and back away from him. He turns around with a mix of fear and excitement in his eyes. “Damn, Jude, that was actually pretty hot.” 

“Shut up,” I reply with an eye roll while stepping out into the hallway. “I’ll keep you updated.”

Vivienne honks the horn at me when she sees me across the school lawn. “What took you so long?” she asks as I take the passenger seat. 

“Cardan was impossible,” I say shortly. 

We pull into the restaurant parking lot a few minutes late. Taryn has a table when we walk in and I can tell that this won’t be an easy dinner. “Hi, sister,” I say weakly. 

“Jude,” she replies. “Why am I here? I don’t need another one of your lectures about Locke-”

“That’s not what this is about at all,” I correct. “Locke and I have come to an understanding. Tonight is about being sisters again.”

Vivienne nods supportively and smiles at Taryn. “C’mon, Taryn. Jude’s burying the hatchet, and you know that she likes to have a weapon in her hand.” 

Taryn doesn’t exactly agree to become sisters again, but she motions for us to sit down with half of a smile. So, I take that as a sign that she’s willing to try. 

“You guys are late,” Taryn states. 

“Blame Jude,” Vivienne says with innocence. 

“Hey!” I exclaim. “It wasn’t my fault. It was my overprotective boyfriends fault.” 

Taryn nods her head knowingly. “Is he still freaking out about the whole Valerian thing last night?” 

“Yeah, but I think that I showed Cardan that I can handle myself,” I reply with a smirk. 

“What’d you do? Tie him up?” Taryn asks. 

“Maybe…” 

“I always knew Cardan was into kink,” Vivienne adds and all three of us burst out laughing. For a moment it feels like the first day of school again when we still acted like sisters. “Wait, what happened last night? I thought Valerian was expelled.” 

“He is expelled,” I sigh. “But, he decided to show up to our little get together thing.” 

“Are you fucking serious?” Viv exclaims. 

“Yeah, but I don’t think he’ll show his face around campus again,” Taryn adds while sipping on her soda. 

Vivienne turns to me. “Why is that?” 

“Let’s just say,” I begin. “Cardan wasn’t too happy to see him last night.” 

“He kicked Valerian’s ass,” Taryn blurts out. 

“No! Cardan?” Vivienne cries. “He’s a lover, not a fighter.” 

“Not when it comes to Jude,” Taryn motions to me and heat rises to my cheeks. 

“Okay,” I say, changing the subject. “Since we’re on the topic of overprotective boyfriends, Taryn, how’s Locke? What’s he been up to?” 

They both look at me with confusion for my sudden interest and non loathing towards Locke. Vivienne continues to remain suspicious, but Taryn soon falls into a dreamlike state. “Locke is absolutely wonderful,” she coos. 

“That’s great,” I mumble while trying to keep my tone supportive. 

“He’s the best boyfriend you could ever ask for. We love each other more than anything in the entire world,” she sighs. “In fact, we’re celebrating our three month anniversary this Saturday.”

“Wow…” Vivienne draws out cheerfully. “Three months. That’s a long time.” 

“Locke is throwing a party for me and he told me I could invite anyone I wanted, so both of you are invited with your significant others,” she tells us blissfully. 

Vivienne looks at me with worry at Taryn’s proposal, but I only smile and nod. “That sounds so great, Taryn. Cardan and I are sure to be there.” 

“Same with Heather and me,” Vivienne adds after I respond. 

“Perfect,” Taryn smiles. 

The three of us spend the rest of dinner gossiping, talking about TV shows, and complaining about stupid school assignments. 

——

“I don’t want to go though,” Cardan complains to me Friday after school when I remind him of Taryn and Locke’s anniversary party. 

“We have to,” I tell him. 

“Why do you even want to go?” he asks with a raised eyebrow. “You despise Locke and Taryn is almost unbearable when she’s around him.” 

“Hey,” I warn. “That’s my sister. And we’re going, so suck it up, buttercup.” 

He groans and flops back on his bed. “Fine, but that means that my secret romantic dinner has been pushed up to this evening.” 

It’s my turn to raise an eyebrow at him and flop down on the bed right next to him. “Secret romantic dinner?” 

“Yep,” he responds and stands up. “Shhh. Don’t tell anyone. It’s supposed to be a secret.” 

“Cardan…” 

He goes to his door and opens it. Cardan wheels in a cart filled with tacos. I walk over to him with surprise and suspicion. “How did you even pull this off?” I ask. “We weren’t even officially going to the party until like two minutes ago.” 

“Now now, my sweet Jude,” he kisses me softly on the lips. “One never reveals his secrets.” 

“You’re ridiculous,” I tell him while rolling my eyes. 

After we finished dinner, Cardan and I lounge on his couch in front of his fireplace. “This was actually really amazing, Cardan,” I whisper to him. 

I kiss him slowly and deeply before I pull away. I move my lips down to his neck and receive a light moan in response. 

Feeling slightly more confident, I begin to unbutton his shirt and I kiss down his chest and back up to his neck. I continue to suck on his neck as my hands lower to his hardening member. I slip my hands into his underwear and I stroke his shaft. 

“Jude...” he moans. “Are you sure about this?” 

His breath is shallow and I smirk at the affect I have against him as my hand keeps stroking him. 

“I’m sure, Cardan. I’m ready for this.” 

As soon as I say the words he flips me under him and grinds against me. He kisses me hungrily and he helps me out of my shirt. 

He begins to unlatch my bra when a slight fear tugs at me. I’ve never done this before and I’m worried I won’t be as good as his past lovers. 

My bra falls to the side and Cardan looks down on me. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” 

He then begins to suck on my right nipple while twisting the other with his hand. I moan out in response as my fears begin to dissipate. 

Cardan then slips a finger under my panties and slowly pulses against my clit with it. I stop  
him and pull off the leggings and panties I was wearing. 

I completely naked under his gaze and I blush as he takes me in before kissing me with a deep passion. 

He then kisses down my body until he reaches my pussy. He licks up and down my folds and I moan beneath him. He sucks on my clitoris while massaging my breasts. 

I feel myself becoming undone at his touch and my hips buck against him as his lips pull against me. He slips a finger inside of me and then another. 

He curls them and starts to pump them slowly. He increases his speed all while sucking on my clit. I feel my build up and he slips a third finger into my wet folds, sending me over the edge. I cum while moaning out his name. 

I come down from my high and look up at him before smirking. “My turn.” 

I flip him over again and straddle him. I remove his pants and underwear slowly revealing his large, upright shaft. 

Taking it in my hands, he lets out a moan of relief. I pump him up and down gingerly, a little unsure of how to proceed. 

He moans again as I pump him faster and I decide to lick his member up and down before taking the tip into my mouth. 

I swirl my tongue around it and he moans out my name. I bob my head up and down while my hands stroke him.

I continue to increase my speed until he tugs I my hair, stopping me. “What?” I ask, worried. “Was it not right?”

“No, Jude, it was right. It was too right. I was about to cum which isn’t in my best interest right now.” 

He starts to shift to be on top, but I stop him. “I want to be on top.” 

He nods and looks at me with lust in his eyes. “There are condoms in my bedside drawer.” 

“No need,” I tell him. “I’m on the pill.” 

He nods his head and helps to position me on top of him. “This may hurt,” he tells me.

I slide down on to him and he’s right, there is pain. “It’ll get better,” he says and I nod my head as I lower even further. 

I adjust to his size and begin to grind against him. He places his hands on my hips and helps me find a rhythm as I begin to ride him. 

We move our hips with each other and soon all I am feeling is the pleasure of fucking Cardan Greenbriar. 

Both of us let out a moan as the pace increases and the friction begins to send me over the edge. 

I ride him faster and faster until I yell his name out in orgasm and he soon follows. 

We both breathe heavily against each other and recover from our high before taking a shower and falling asleep in each other’s arms. 

——

The next evening, Cardan and I are getting ready for the anniversary party. “It’s kind of unnecessary, don’t you think? To have a party for only three months of dating,” I remark to him while shimmying into a flapper dress. 

The party tonight is 1920 themed, so Cardan and I spent the day finding appropriate outfits. He comes out of his closet wearing a three piece suit accessorized with a fedora and a bowtie. 

“Locke loves throwing a party. Hence the ridiculous theme and costumes that we must wear,” Cardan motions down to his outfit. 

“Why do you always look so handsome?” I complain while walking over to him. I straighten his bowtie and twist his fedora to be slanted on his brow before kissing him passionately. 

“Are you seriously complaining that you have an attractive boyfriend?” he asks with a smirk as I pull away from his lips. “Cause I don’t complain about how beautiful my girlfriend is.” 

I smile and walk back to the mirror I was standing in front of to apply the rest of my makeup and touch up my hair that Vivienne did earlier today. 

The party is held in the same place as Cardan’s birthday. We arrive fashionably late, and it feels like stepping back in time. Everyone has dressed to the theme, a jazz band plays on stage, bright lights shine on the dance floor where people are swing dancing. 

Cardan asks me to dance and I oblige without realizing that he knows how to swing dance. He twirls me around the dance floor and I follow his lead without looking too much like a fool. 

“Why can you do that?” I complain as we exit the dance floor. “But you refused to dance in front of your closest friends on Tuesday.” 

He steers me towards the drink table and pours him a glass of wine. “What can I say, Jude?” he says while sipping on his wine and winking at me. “I’m a man of many sides.” 

“More like a man of foolishness,” I mumble. 

We take a seat in a leather booth close to the stage and examine the room. I spot Vivienne and Heather and they say hi to us before going and dancing themselves. 

“I’m so glad that you could make it, Jude,” Taryn greets me with a hug and slides into the booth across from Cardan and I. 

“Yes,” Locke adds while sitting next to her. “We’re thrilled that you and Cardan could join us this evening. It wouldn’t be a party without my closest friend.” 

“Yeah, Locke,” Cardan responds while downing his glass of wine and placing an arm around my shoulder. “We’re so happy to be here at this glorious party you’ve thrown for yourself.” 

We listen to the music and make small talk. I’m about to propose another dance with Cardan when someone comes over to Locke and whispers in his ear before walking away.

“Excuse me,” he says to us. “I have to go take care of something in regards to the party.”

“Is there something that I can do?” Taryn asks with concern. 

“No, no,” Locke replies to her swiftly. “I’ll take care of it, dear.” 

He gets out from the booth and begins to walk to the exit doors. “I’m also going to excuse myself,” I say. “I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back soon.” 

I swiftly follow after Locke, not wanting to keep him out of my sight. Using The Ghost’s sly footing technique, I follow Locke down the hall and watch him go into a classroom. 

The room is dark, and I stand outside the door and take out my phone and begin filming. I film Locke hand over a baggy with pills in it before the recipient gives him a wad of cash. “It was a pleasure doing business with you,” Locke says formally before starting to the door. 

I rush away quietly to a different empty classroom before sending the video to The Roach and silently cheering for my success. 

I return to the party, overjoyed. I party the night away with dancing, drinking, and kisses from Cardan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I hope you liked this new update. 
> 
> They finally had sex! Yayyyy I guess. And Jude finally got evidence on Locke. And she (hopefully) has her twin sister back. All is looking up for these two love birds! 
> 
> Anyways... thanks for reading this story. And thanks for all the comments and kudos. They’re much appreciated. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	20. Chapter 20

Fourth hour can’t come soon enough Monday morning. I sent the video of Locke to The Shadows on Sunday, but nothing could truly happen until we talked to Dain about it. I’m looking forward to getting rid of Locke, but first I have to get through the first three hours of the day. 

“Are you ready?” The Ghost asks at the beginning of calculus. 

“Beyond ready,” I tell him when Cardan walks away from my desk. “Of course, I’m not quite sure what I’m ready for. I’ve never been involved in getting a student expelled.” 

“Sure you have,” he says with a smile. “I think Valerian’s fists connecting with your face involve you enough with an expulsion.” 

“Ugh,” I groan with an eye roll. “Don’t remind me. My head hurts just thinking of Valerian.” 

At the end of the class period, The Ghost slips out the door like normal. Cardan and I walk to art where Cardan has managed to switch the seating arrangement, so we’re next to each other. In English, Ms. Shannon gives us time to work on our project with our partners. 

As soon as the period is over, I rush to the basement and away from a pouting Cardan. We position ourselves around the room and wait for Dain to come in. “What do you guys think is going to happen?” I ask as we wait. 

“I’m not sure, we’ve never dealt with something quite like this,” The Roach replies. 

“I expect that Locke will be expelled and perhaps even have criminal charges brought against him,” The Bomb chimes in. 

I nod my head and we sit in silence until Dain finally does come. “How are you all doing today?” he trumpets when he walks in. He waits a moment, but nobody responds. “Well, I expect you are doing well. Today is a very exciting day.” 

He takes a seat at the head desk in the front of the dim room. “Jude,” he says, turning to me. “The Roach has given me some very exciting information.” 

The Roach and I both nod our heads in agreement. 

“Now, I haven’t seen the video of the elicit deal, so I will need to see that first before deciding how to respond,” he holds out his expectantly. 

I take out my phone and give it to him with the video ready to play. He watched it very carefully, and when he reaches the end, a slight smile tugs at his lips and he sits quietly. 

“Well?” I ask impatiently. “Is it enough to expel Locke?”

“Oh,” he says charmingly. “It’s more than enough. You did an excellent job, Jude. I was correct in my assumption when I thought you should become one of my shadows.”

“How will you proceed now?” The Ghost inquires. 

Dain hands me back my phone. “First, I will need that video sent to me. Then, I’ll talk to Locke myself today during lunch. Next, there will have to be a hearing held with the school board after school today with the evidence submitted. Don’t worry, Jude,” he adds. “I will make sure your contribution to the investigation will be completely anonymous. I don’t want anyone catching wind of my little club here.” 

“Won’t Locke have criminal charges against him?” I wonder aloud. 

“That’s up to Locke himself,” Dain tells us. “I’m going to give him two options: leave the school with cooperation or leave the school and go to jail.” 

Dain shrugs in his seat. “It’s truly up to him.” 

He leaves us after that. The rest of the hour, the four of us contemplate what to do now that we’ve completed the one thing we were focusing on. 

Alas, the lunch bell rings and we all sit together at one table. We decide that we deserve the rest of the day off from spying, well the rest of the school day. The four of us are planning on ‘sitting in’ on Locke’s hearing this afternoon. We’re discussing which tunnel to travel through to get the most out of the hearing when Cardan plops down in the seat next to me. 

“How is my leading lady?” he asks with a kiss to my forehead. 

“It’s only been an hour since I’ve seen you, Cardan,” I reply with an eye roll. “I’m still perfectly fine.”

“Glad to hear,” he says with a smile. He turns to the rest of the table. “How are our friends doing?” 

“We’re doing quite alright. We had a good time last hour,” The Bomb tells him. 

“Oh really?” he perks up his head. “What made it so good?” 

We look between each other awkwardly. “Nothing in particular,” The Roach grumbles. “We just watched a funny video.” 

“Can I watch-”

Cardan is cut off by his older brother marching through the bustling cafeteria. Students part and Dain makes a direct line to the table Cardan usually sits at. The school security officer walks quietly behind him. They stop in front of Locke who lounges in his chair. “Locke,” Dain asserts. “I need you to come with me- now.” 

Locke looks at Dain and the security officer and then around the silent cafeteria. He stands up and Taryn shoots up next to him and places a hand protectively on Locke’s arm. “Why are you doing this?” Taryn asks.

“Just come along, Locke,” Dain says, ignoring Taryn. “We don’t need to make this difficult. I believe both of us know what this is about.” 

Locke nods his head and slowly saunters around the table. He begins to walk through the still parted students with the officer right behind him and Dain following. Cardan strides to the middle of the room and as they pass him he puts his hand out to stop Dain. “What the hell, Dain? What is this about? You can’t just do this,” he demands. 

Dain shrugs Cardan off. “Yes, I can baby brother. Back up, I don’t want you to be next.”

I grab Cardan and guide him back to his seat where he continues to fume to himself. Students shuffle back to their seats when Dain leaves the room. Cardan looks up at the four of us. “Why aren’t you guys as surprised or angry about this as me?” 

“That scene was surprising alright,” The Ghost shrugs.

I take Cardan’s hand under the table and rubs circles on the back of it with my thumb. “I’m sorry about your friend,” I express to him. 

“What could he have done?” he mumbles to himself.

Cardan’s angry the rest of the day. When school is let out, we travel back to his dorm room. Cardan emcompasses himself with a bottle of wine, so he doesn’t ask any questions when I tell him I’m going out. 

I leave through his wardrobe, but he doesn’t even notice. I travel to the administration building and find the room the The Shadows had planned on meeting in. 

When we all arrive, The Roach leads us back through the tunnels and into an even smaller room. He grabs a chair from the room and sits down very close to one of the walls. 

“Are you going to explain to us what you’re doing?” I whisper to him. 

“This wall,” he whispers back. “Joins with a wall in the hearing room. It was made for people to listen in, but we have to be very quiet to not be caught.” 

The rest of us take our own seats and quietly wait for the hearing to begin. 

We don’t wait for very long, within ten minutes of sitting down, we can hear people shuffle into the room. 

“Let’s begin,” a voice that I recognize as Dain’s announces. “We are here today to discuss the terms of your expulsion.” 

“Why am I being expelled?” a snotty Locke spits out. “Nobody has actually told me.” 

“You are being expelled,” Dain tells him. “For the selling of drugs to students on the campus of Greenbriar Academy.” 

“That’s absurd,” Locke laughs off. “I’ve never done that. What proof do you have?”

“We have video evidence from the party that you threw on Saturday night. The video outlines you handing drugs to a student and then receiving money as payment.” 

“Who took the video? Anything can be edited these days,” his tone remains nonchalant, but I can hear a subtle fear in his voice. “Are you sure your source is reliable?” 

“The source is very reliable,” Dain replies simply. 

I can hear more shuffling around and something turning on. “Here is the evidence,” a deep voice that I don’t recognize says. 

My video begins to play and the room watches silently. The video ends and Dain says, “Well, Locke, do you have anything to deny this video?” 

“I, um, I-” he stammers. 

“Locke?” 

“It was just a one time thing,” Locke says finally. “That’s not enough to expel me. I know, I’ve read the handbook. I’m not afraid to bring in my family lawyer.” 

Dain sighs. “I thought you’d say that, so I have gathered more evidence.” 

There is more shuffling and some sort of shaking that sounds like pills. “Do you know what this is?” a female voice asks Locke. “Because it’s very much connected to your living situation.” 

“That wasn’t in my room,” Locke declares. “I’ve never seen that bag before in my life.”

“Is that so?” Dain demands. “Because, you are correct, we didn’t find these pills in your room. We found them in your girlfriends, Taryn Duarte.” 

I let out a small gasp before placing a hand over my mouth. I look at my fellow Shadows in explanation. How could they have not told me about this? 

“So? That doesn’t mean they’re mine,” Locke argues. 

“That’s true,” Dain agrees. “So, I guess that we’ll have to call in Taryn and have her expelled for this. Is that what you want?” 

I guess Locke shook his head because Dain continues. “I didn’t think so. Now, Locke, you’re a very smart kid. You have two paths here: the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you leaving the school without a fight. The hard way is you leaving school with a fight, but we turn you over to the authorities.” 

“My lawyers will-” 

“Locke,” Dain stops him. “I don’t want your entire future to be ruined. If you leave now, we can keep future colleges from finding out the real reason you left the academy… Have we come to an agreement?” 

“Yes,” Locke says quietly after a while. 

“Very good,” Dain continues. “Then I hereby declare you dismissed from Greenbriar Academy. You can take tonight and tomorrow to pack your things and clear out.” 

People shuffle out of the room, and the four of us exit the listening chamber and don’t talk until we’re far into the tunnel.

“What the hell guys?” I demand. “Why didn’t you tell me that Taryn was involved with this?” 

“Cause we didn’t know either,” The Ghost tells me. 

“Yeah, cause I’m just supposed to believe that Dain found the evidence without you guys.” 

“He did,” The Roach grumbles. “I guess we aren’t as important as we thought we were.” 

We walk silently a ways further until we came to a crossroad. 

“Let’s not forget the good that happened today,” The Bomb reminds us. “We caught the bad guy and completed a mission.” 

We all nod our heads and go our separate ways. I head back to Cardan’s room, and as I get closer to the light filtered in from his armoire, I hear voices in a tense conversation. 

“Locke is not a drug dealer,” a female voice declares. 

I move closer and I can hear the voices clearer. 

“I don’t understand, Jude,” a sloppy Cardan says. “Why would you want me to tell Dain not to expel Locke? You hate him.” 

“I told you,” I hear myself say, but it’s not actually me. I look into the room through a crack to see Taryn dressed in my clothes. “Cardan, it’s for Taryn. She loves him and wants to be with Locke. I want the same for her.” 

“I already used up all of my chips when I convinced Dain to expel Valerian, you know this,” he rolls his head back while sitting on one of his sofas. “And I don’t get along with Dain. He wouldn’t do this for me even if he wanted to.” 

“Cardan, please,” she places a hand on Cardan’s forearm. “For me.” 

I’m about to burst into the room in a blazing ball of fury when Cardan starts to chuckle. 

“What?” Taryn exclaims. “Is this funny to you?” 

“Kind of,” Cardan says while taking a sip of his wine. “Taryn, did you really think that I wouldn’t know it was you?” 

Her mouth hangs open in surprise. The two of us have successfully pulled off a twin swap more than once. We’ve mastered becoming one another. “What gave it away?” she asks. 

“Nothing, really,” he shrugs. “Well, besides all of the praise for Locke, it was completely believable for you to be Jude… However, I’ve always been able to tell the two of you apart- long before Jude and I started dating.” 

He takes Taryn by the hand and leads her to the door. Cardan opens the door, and Taryn steps into the hallway. “Good luck to you and Locke,” he tells her before slamming the door. 

I wait a moment before entering the room, cautiously. “Cardan,” I call out.

He turns around and a goofy grin expands on his face. “There’s my girl,” he wraps his arms around me and spins me through the air. 

I press a kiss to his lips before he puts me down. We take a seat on a sofa. “How did you really know that it was Taryn?” I ask him. 

“Easy,” he replies and kisses me again. “Your beauty does not compare to any others, not even your identical twin sister.” 

I smile and kiss him again. I’m about to tell him how cheesy that was when I examine all the empty to half-empty wine bottles on the coffee table for the first time. 

Maybe he does think I’m beautiful, I think to myself. He does smell like a wine cellar… and that’s a lot of empty bottles. 

We sit with each other for a moment before I stand again and walk back towards Cardan’s wardrobe. “Where are you going?” he complains. “Come back.” 

“Sorry, but I must pay a visit to my dear sister,” I tell him before climbing back down into the tunnel I just came out of. 

Somehow, I beat Taryn back to her dorm room. I perch myself on her bed and wait for her to come in. When she does, she jumps back in fright at the intruder in her room. She shifts into an awkward self-defense pose before she realizes that it’s me. “What the hell, Jude? Why are you in here?” she demands. 

I look her up and down. “That’s a nice outfit. Where’d you get it?” 

She shifts on her feet. “Oh, you know, that old thrift store down the road.” 

I stand up and pace around her. “I see, because I have something quite similar in my closet. Is that my perfume?” 

“I wanted to shake it up,” she replies timidly. “And yours smells divine.” 

“You hate my perfume. You told me that when we bought it,” I remind her. “Where are you coming from?” 

“The library.” 

“Liar.” 

“I am not.” 

“I guess Cardan’s room is considered the library now.” 

“Jude-” 

“Stop and listen to me,” I order while cutting her off. I walk towards her and she presses herself against a wall. “Don’t you ever try something like what you did today agian.” 

“I won’t-” 

“Ever.” 

I take a step back and compose myself. “If you interfere with Cardan and I in any way, you’ll seriously regret it.” 

She nods her head and I make my way to the door before remembering what happened at the hearing. “One more thing,” I tell her while walking over to her. “Was it Locke’s or your idea to keep his entire stash in your room?” 

Panic floods into her eyes and she rushes to her closet and begins to dig through a pile of clothes. “No, no, no, no…” she chants to herself. “He’s going to be so mad.” 

“There’s no use looking,” I say. “You won’t find it.” 

She turns to me with concern. “How did you even know about that?” she asks. 

“It doesn’t matter,” I reply quickly. “What matters is Locke dragging you into his messes. If I hear of him doing that again- he will regret it.” 

I leave her dorm room before I can reveal anything else or make a bad decision. 

I return to a Cardan with no questions. We spend the rest of the night sipping on wine and watching mindless television.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii. Sorry guys, I haven’t been super consistent with my updates recently. 
> 
> I hope y’all liked this chapter. It was mostly just a Locke takedown, but I think we can all get behind it. Also a cute Jurdan moment towards the end there I guess. 
> 
> Nevertheless, I hope you’re all still vibing. Thanks for the comments and kudos and suggestions. I take them all with an open heart. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	21. Chapter 21

A week passes and the school feels different without Locke’s arrogant ass walking through the halls. I supposed Dain got what he wished for because everyone is on edge. No one dares to step out of line, in fear of any type of retaliation from the administration. 

“It’s just shocking is all,” Jameson says at lunch on Friday. “We all knew that Locke was dealing, but we didn’t think that he would ever be expelled for it.” 

“Why’s that?” I ask him. 

“He’s one of the golden boys,” he responds with a shrug. “Of course, he should have laid low after Val got expelled.” 

“The golden boys?” I inquire. 

“Myself, Locke, and Valerian,” Cardan says from my side. “We came up with the nickname in 6th grade. We always felt so untouchable. Now we know better.” 

He angrily takes a bite from his apple as I observe him cautiously. It can’t be easy for his best friends to be expelled within the same month. “Watch out, Cardan,” Nicasia adds. “You could be next.” 

The two of us sigh in the same mutual hope that that never happens. 

The next morning Cardan and I are brushing our teeth in his bathroom. He’s still in his silk PJs and I’m in one of his dress shirts. When I finish with my teeth, Cardan pulls me against him and presses a kiss to my lips. He pulls away from me, but I drag his lips back down to mine. My fingers tangle in his hair and I tug on his black curls softly. 

I’m intoxicated in his cologne, so I don’t even notice when he lifts me by my thighs and places me on the counter. He stands between my legs and places his hands on my hips to pull me closer to him. Cardan moves his mouth from mine and places kisses along my jawline before I lift his mouth back to mine. 

I suck and pull at his bottom lip as his breathing becomes shallow. Cardan traces his hands up my body and places one on my neck where he grasps it slightly. I pull myself even closer to Cardan and grind against him slowly.

A moan escapes my lips, but we’re interrupted by a ringing next to me. I look at my phone and see that I’m getting a call from Vivienne. 

“What’s up sister?” she asks when I answer. 

“Not much,” I reply while getting off of the counter. “Cardan and I were just talking about what we should do today.”

“Heather and I were going to take Oak to see that new kiddy movie,” she tells me. “We were hoping that you would want to come.” 

“Yeah,” I say. “That actually sounds like a really good distraction.” 

“Does your boy toy want to come?” she asks. 

I take the phone away from my face and call out to Cardan who has retreated to laying back in bed. “Want to go see a movie with me, Viv, Heather, and Oak?” 

“What movie?” he responds, still annoyed at Vivienne stopping us. 

“The new kid one about the wizards,” I tell him. 

“Hard pass,” he says while sitting up. 

I bring the phone back up to my face. “He’d love to go.” 

“No!” Cardan shouts. 

“He needs to get over himself,” Viv says in annoyance at Cardan’s response. 

“Vivi says that you need to get over yourself,” I say to Cardan, and he reburies himself back under the covers. 

“What time do you want to meet at the theatre?” I ask Vivienne. 

“At 11:30, we can get something to eat after the movie,” she responds. “Do you need a ride?” 

“Nope, Cardan has a car,” I reply while getting our breakfast tray from outside the door. 

“Do you want to tell Taryn, or should I?” Vivienne wonders. 

“Ugh,” I groan. “If Taryn is going, I’m not.” 

“Okay… I’m going to need some more information about why you two are fighting again.”

I glance at Cardan. He only knows that I’m mad that she pretended to be me, not that she was hiding drugs for Locke. “I’ll tell you later,” I say to Vivienne. 

“Alright, see you later,” she hangs up. 

I take a piece of toast from the tray and flop down next to Cardan on his bed. “Why are you being a dick about today?” I inquire. 

“I’m not going to see a movie about wizards,” he groans from under his covers. 

“Yes, you are, and you’re going to enjoy it,” I pull the blankets away from him. 

“Seriously, Jude. I can’t go,” he says softly while trying to wrangle the blankets back from me. 

“Are you going to tell me why?” 

He gives up on trying to get the blankets back from me and lays on his back. “I got a text from my brother,” he murmurs. “He’s coming to visit me today, so I can’t go.” 

“Dain?” 

“No,” he sighs. “Balekin.” 

“Good,” I reply with an upbeat tone. “I’ll get to meet him. You know all of my siblings. I think that it’s time for you to introduce me to some of yours.” 

He sits up and puts his legs over the side of the bed, his back to me. “No,” he says sternly. “He’s coming at 1:00, so he’ll hopefully be gone by the time you get back.” 

“Cardan…” I begin to argue, but he seemed too serious about this. “Fine, I’ll just meet your family on a different day.”

After we eat breakfast, I get dressed in a pair of jeans, a red blouse, and one of Cardan’s black jackets. “Are you going to need your car?” I ask him before I’m about to leave. 

“No, why?” 

“I’m taking it.” 

I grab his keys and leave his dorm room. 

“Jude…” I hear him warn as I walk down the hallway.

I arrived at the movie theatre quickly. Heather and Vivienne wait for me at the front hand in hand with an excited Oak. As I come closer to them, he rushes to me and engulfs me in a hug.

“Hey, bud,” I say while ruffling his curly hair. “I missed you. Are you excited to see this movie?”

“Yes!” he responds in a rush while we make our way into the theatre lobby. “I’ve been wanting to see if for like ever now, and Vivi told me that she would buy me candy.”

“Did she now?” I raise my eyebrow in her direction. “Does that offer extend to younger sisters as well?” 

She rolls her eyes and gets in the snack line. “Only for you,” she replies with a smile. 

I take Oak to the bathroom and return to a large popcorn. “Where’s Cardan?” Heathers asks after we get directed to theatre seven. 

“He had some family stuff that he needed to take care of,” I explain quickly. 

We reach theatre seven in no time and Oak drags us quickly to the best seats and begins to devour his popcorn. 

The movie ends in no time at all. Soon, Oak sits in the back seat of Cardan’s car. We pick up food at his favorite fast food place and make our way to a park. All while he tells me about school, soccer, and his new found friends. 

We arrive at the park and sit down at a table. Oak finishes his lunch in about two minutes before asking permission from the three of us to go and play on the equipment with the other kids. Vivienne tells him to go have fun, and the three of us take the first bites of our lunch. 

“So, why didn’t Cardan really come?” Viv inquires as we watch Oak run around a swing set. “He never has ‘family stuff.’” 

“He did today,” I say with a sigh. “He told me that Balekin was coming to talk to him, so he couldn’t go to the movie.” 

“Balekin? Who’s that?” Heather asks. 

“One of his brothers,” Vivienne replies. “The one that raised him.” 

“He raised him?” I challenge. “I’ve never heard that.” 

“Yeah, well raised is generous,” Viv explains. “Cardan was dumped around the Greenbriar family as a kid, but he spent the longest time with Balekin.” 

“I wonder why he didn’t want me to meet him,” I think out loud. 

“Cause he’s a complete asshole,” Vivienne states. “If you thought Cardan was bad, Balekins ten times worse. I’ve only met him a couple of times, but he was a real creep.” 

We sit and continue to watch Oak until Heather changes the subject. “Why wasn’t Taryn invited?” she inquires. “Vivienne told me that the two of you had made peace with one another.” 

“We had,” I say with another sigh. “Until her boyfriend was expelled for selling drugs at school.”

“What?” Heathers says with her jaw dropped. 

“How in the fuck did I not hear about this?” Vivi shakes her head back and forth with disappointment. 

“I knew something wasn’t quite right with Locke,” Heather adds. 

“Wait-” Viv stops. “Why did this make you and Taryn mad at each other? Him being gone should be better for your relationship.” 

“I thought so too,” I reply. “But then I found out that she was hiding drugs for him in her room.”

“No!” Heather exclaims. 

“Yeah, and after finding that piece of information out, I return to Cardan and I’s room to find Taryn pretending to be me. She tried to convince Cardan that she was me, and that he needed to find a way so Locke wouldn’t have to leave school.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me,” Viv mumbles to herself. 

“When I confronted her about it,” I continue. “She denied the whole thing and still wanted to protect Locke.” 

“I can see why you’re mad at her,” Heather lets out a sigh. 

“Yep,” Viv says. “Completely justified.”

I’m about to respond, but Oak comes over to us. “I’m bored,” he complains. “Jude, come and play with me.” 

I oblige and soon I’m chasing him all over the park equipment in a fun game of tag. 

Not too long after, I’m back on campus parking Cardan’s car. I enter the doors of his dormitory and hear shouting. “How could you be friends with such lowlives?” a gruff voice exclaims. 

A crashing follows the voice and what sounds like a thud against the floor. I cautiously edge my way down the hallway, unsure of what is going on. 

“Someone who sells drugs and another who beats people up for fun.” 

Another crash and another thud. I quicken my pace to Cardan’s door. 

“I never want to hear of you being around such horrid people again.” 

I’m about to bust into Cardan’s room, when the door opens for me. A tall, handsome man steps out of Cardan’s room. He has dark hair and resembles Cardan greatly. 

It must be Balekin, I think to myself. 

He sees me at the door before ignoring me and marching to the exit. 

I look into the room fearfully to see Cardan curled into a ball on the floor. I rush in and kneel at his side. “Cardan,” I breathe out. “What happened? Are you okay?” 

He lets out a jagged groan. I roll him onto his back and place his head in my lap as I observe his wounds. Blood runs from his brow and he grabs at his ribcage in pain. I slowly lift up his shirt and see the making of bruises. “I need to call someone, Cardan, who should I call?” I stammer in panic. 

“No,” he murmurs. “Don’t call anyone. Just- just get me to my bed.” 

I place his arm around my neck, grab onto his torso, and slowly stand. We shuffle the few feet to his bed, and I lay him back gently on his pillow. 

“Cardan,” I beg. “Please, let me call someone to help you. I can’t bear to see you like this. Please, let me help.” 

“You- you are helping,” he takes my hand and I sit on the edge of the bed. “You’re helping by being here. Usually, I have to deal with the damage on my own.” 

“He’s done this before?” 

Cardan nods slightly and his eyes flutter. “Trust me, I don’t need anyone but you. I’ve dealt with worse. I just need some rest.” 

He closes his eyes and his breathing softens as his body begins to rest. I press a kiss to his forehead and pray for a quick recovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiii! It’s been a minute since I’ve updated, so I hoped you enjoyed it. 
> 
> This chapter kind of made me sad/mad towards the end. Not gonna lie. We finally got Balekin in here, and I hated every minute of it. I’ve got some more stuff planned for the couple, so stay tuned. 
> 
> Also, thanks to those offering toilet paper and flowers, but I fear that the angst is inevitable, but it’s definitely in the future. 
> 
> Thanks sent out to all my readers! I love your comments and kudos. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	22. Chapter 22

Sunday morning, Cardan awakens about an hour after me. “How are you?” I say softly after helping him to a sitting position. 

“Fine, I guess,” he mumbles.

He starts to get out of bed. He puts his legs over the side of the bed and groans in pain, so I put my arm on him, stopping him. “What hurts?” I ask. 

“Can I say everything?” he rubs the back of his neck with his palm and chuckles to himself. 

I walk around the bed and sit down next to him to examine the damage Balekin caused. I trace my fingers over the bruises on his face and down to his torso before I lace my fingers in his. He doesn’t seem to have any broken bones or lethal damage. 

“What do you normally do when- uh- this happens?” 

“Drink it off,” he tells me with a smile. 

“And that works?” I ask, skeptical. “Are you sure you’re not more hurt than that?” 

“Yes, it’s been worse than this,” Cardan replies. 

“Hmmm,” I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t have to act all tough. You have someone to take care of you.” 

“I know,” he smirks at me. “Which is why I will allow you to go get me a glass of wine- wait- make it a bottle.”

I give him a kiss and roll my eyes. “I’m only doing this because you’re sick and I feel sorry for you,” I tell him when I return to the bed with an open bottle.

“Thanks, dear,” he says while taking a large swig. “I’m feeling better already.” 

I help him to the couch where we begin to eat our breakfast. We stay on the couch for the rest of the day playing Cardan’s violent video games and he convinces me to let us watch The Princess Bride.

\-----

I make Cardan stay home from school on Monday, but Tuesday he returns as if nothing happened at all. He used some makeup to cover up the bruises, so there’s no tell to show that he’s been hurt ever. He’s good at covering them up, and I can’t help but wonder how many times he’s had to hide. 

That morning, I take my usual seat next to The Ghost and Cardan sits at his desk in front of me. Last week, Cardan convinced Mr. Scott to let him move seats now that Locke won’t be returning. 

As Mr. Scott begins to teach, Dain comes over the speaker. “Attention Greenbriar Academy,” he begins. “I have news regarding Homecoming next week.” 

Excited murmurs travel throughout the classroom. “I have the candidates for the Homecoming King and Queen. You will get the chance to vote on who should win over the next two weeks and the winners will be announced at the dance on the Saturday after the big game.” 

The murmurs grow and wait eagerly for Dain’s next announcement. He rattles off a list of names for the King candidates and eventually ends with Cardan Greenbriar. 

My boyfriend turns around and faces with a smirk as Dain begins to read off the Queen candidates. “Watch out, Jude,” Cardan says. “I’m about to officially be crowned the King of the school.” 

I roll my eyes and listen to Dain read Nicasia’s and Taryn’s names. All of the names are to be expected until he reads the last name, “and finally, Jude Duarte. I can’t wait to see who the school will decide to crown.” 

The Ghost and Cardan both turn to my startled face and begin to laugh to themselves. “You have to be kidding me,” I mumble mostly to myself. 

“Who would’ve thought,” The Ghost teases. “Jude Duarte, a part of Homecoming royalty. You’re practically a Queen already.” 

“How could this happen?” I let out an annoyed laugh. 

“Well, Princess,” Cardan says with a smirk. “It seems like we’ll both be royalty this Homecoming.”

He turns back around as the class starts. 

At lunch, we sit with The Shadows. They’re in the middle of teasing Cardan and I about being Homecoming royalty when Taryn comes over to the table. “Jude,” she says passively. 

“Taryn,” I respond. 

“Congrats on being nominated for Homecoming,” she seems genuine, and I can see a slight sadness in her eyes. 

“Same to you,” I tell her. 

I glance around the table, and they’re all watching me very carefully. Taryn clears her throat and I look back to her. “Madoc told me that you aren’t taking his calls,” she says. 

“That’s correct.”

“Well, he asked me to tell you that we’re having a family dinner this Saturday night,” Taryn explains. “He wants you- and Cardan to come.” 

“Why would I go?” I retort. “It didn’t exactly go well last time the family got together.” 

“He promised that he would be well behaved,” she tells me. “Also, Vivienne and Heather said that they would go too.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” I roll my eyes and look at Cardan. He seems interested in what Taryn is saying. 

“Madoc just wants to make up for what happened last time,” she returns before walking away. “Just think about it.” 

When she walks away, I turn back to the table. “I am not going to that,” I state. 

“I don’t know,” Cardan says playfully. “It sounds like a blast to me.” 

“You can’t be serious,” I reply. 

“C’mon,” he nudges my arm. “You were just saying that you wanted to get to know my family. I should be allowed to want the same with yours.” 

I sigh and shake my head. “I’ll think about it. No promises.” 

“I don’t know,” The Roach says sarcastically. “You and Taryn were both nominated to be Homecoming Queen. That may be one diva too many.”

I roll my eyes and smile. “The only diva we have to worry about is Cardan.” 

\-----

Despite my apprehension, Cardan and I decide to go to my family dinner. “I still think that this is a bad idea,” I tell him as we get ready. 

I wear a simple black dress with renaissance sleeves. Cardan puts on a pair of black pants, a gold shirt, and a stylish black blazer. We both wear our matching necklaces. 

“I think it’s a great idea,” Cardan responds to me while putting an earring in. “I’ll charm the pants off of your family, they’ll want you to marry me tonight.” 

“That’s ridiculous,” I roll my eyes. “Madoc already wants me to marry you, so I don’t think you’ll need your charm for that.”

“So, you admit that I’m charming?” Cardan replies with a smirk. 

“Never,” I tell him after a quick peck on his lips- almost ruining his highlighter application.

I finish getting ready and sit on the couch to wait for Cardan to get done preparing himself. Still not wanting to go, I shoot another text to Vivi to confirm (again) that she’s going. There’s no way that I’m going without her and Heather being there. 

Cardan walks out of the bathroom and does a smooth spin for me. “Damn,” I say to him while looking him up and down. I bite down on my lips seductively. “You look so sexy. Are you sure you don’t want to stay in tonight?” 

He stands in front of me and holds out a hand to help me off the couch. “You have no idea how tempting that is, but we have to go tonight.” 

“When did you become responsible?” I complain with a groan. 

He grabs his keys and we walk out of his dorm room as Vivienne responds to my text. She tells me that she’s on her way to Madoc’s stronghold right now. I let out a sigh of relief and walk with Cardan to his car. 

The drive doesn’t take long. Before we know it, we’re standing on Madoc’s doorstep. “Don’t worry,” Cardan says to me as I knock. “We can leave at any time.” 

“Jude!” Oriana greets me with mock enthusiasm. “I’m so glad that you could make it. You gave us all such a scare the last time the family got together.” 

We step into the entryway and she turns to Cardan. “You must be Mr. Greenbriar. Welcome to our home. We were so thrilled to learn of you looking after our Jude.” 

“Please, call me Cardan,” he returns while shaking her hand. “And Jude can take care of herself. She mostly looks after me.” 

“Well then,” Oriana returns, irked. “Jude, you know the way around the house. I have to go check on dinner.” 

I grab onto Cardan’s hand, but they’re soon separated by another pair of hands. Oak comes from behind the two of us and latches on to me. “Jude!” he cries out in joy. 

“Hi Oak!” I return while picking him up and swinging him around. “I missed you. How did your soccer game go?” 

“Good,” he tells me before looking at Cardan with suspicion. 

“Oak,” I say while motioning towards Cardan. “This is my boyfriend, Cardan Greenbriar.”

He looks Cardan up and down before putting his arms around me possessively. “Hi, Oak,” Cardan says happily, trying to ease Oak’s worry. “I’d like to get to know you a bit better. Jude tells me that you really enjoy soccer. Who’s your favorite team?” 

That seems to have been the perfect ice breaker of a question because Oak explodes into an answer. I set him down as Cardan and him continued their conversation into the sitting room off of the foyer. 

There’s a knock at the door, and I open it to be greeted by Vivienne and Heather. “Hey there, sis,” Viv says while hugging me. 

“I’m so glad that you guys are here,” I reply while giving a hug to Heather. 

“I’m not,” Viv tells me. 

Heather rolls her eyes. “It took a lot of convincing to get Vivienne to come tonight, but I’m optimistic that it’ll be a good night.” 

“Me too,” Cardan says while wrapping his arms around me from behind. “Jude tried everything to change my mind, but here she is.” 

Oak scurries into Heather’s arms after giving Vivienne a hug. “I’m not here for you,” I say while nudging him slightly with my elbow. “I’m here for Oak.” 

I pinch Oak’s cheeks as Vivi and Heather begin to have a conversation. He beams with all the attention as Cardan and I walk towards the dining room. “Are you going to give me a tour?” Cardan asks. “I’m just dying to know all about how my sweet Jude grew up.” 

I roll my eyes and lead him down the hallway leading off of the foyer. I show him the dining room, kitchen, Madoc’s office, and all the living/sitting rooms before leading him upstairs. 

Vivienne’s room is right off the stairs, Oak’s follows, Madoc and Oriana’s are at the end of the hallway. My room is in the middle, connected to Taryn’s by a small bathroom. “So, this is it,” I announce to Cardan. “Jude’s room- outside of the academy.” 

He nods his head with a slight smile and observes everything carefully. He picks up pictures of my family and examines them, runs his fingers against the worn books on my shelf, and rumples the covers on my bed. “This is Jude,” he says to himself as he looks around the room. 

He begins to examine the sword display Madoc gave me for my tenth birthday when I slip into the bathroom. I come out of the bathroom to see Cardan lounging on my bed. He has an old journal of mine in his hands. He flips to a page and begins to read it with a smirk. 

“Dear Diary, Cardan Greenbriar is the most aggravating person in the world,” he reads. “Today, he broke my pencil. I hate him, but I also can’t stop thinking about him. He has to be the most handsome person in the entire world.”

“Cardan!” I warn and jump onto the bed, trying to snatch the diary from his hands. “You better give that to me!” 

“As much as I hate him, I wish I were half as beautiful as him,” he continues to read as I climb on top of him. “Maybe if I were beautiful-”

I grab the book from him and slam it shut victoriously. I throw it across the room and pin Cardan down. “For the record,” I tell him. “I was in eighth grade. I was overloaded with hormones that I didn’t know what to do with…”

“Jude.”

“... and I mean, look at you. Even those who hate you can’t help but admit that you’re attractive,” I ramble on. “I was just an insecure-”

He cuts me off with a kiss. “For the record,” he says when he pulls away. “You’ve always been the most beautiful person in the world.”

“You’re just saying that-”

He kisses me again. “The most beautiful person in the world,” Cardan whispers in my ear before kissing me again. 

I eventually pull away when Oriana calls up to us that dinner’s ready. “By the way,” I tell him. “This means that I get to read your eight grade diary.”

“Okay, but it’s way less interesting.” 

“I doubt that,” I remark as we walk down the stairs and to the dining room. 

I take a seat next to Oak, and Cardan sits on the other side of me. Vivienne and Heather sit across from me and Oak. Taryn sits across from Cardan, and Locke takes his seat next to Taryn. Madoc and Oriana then enter and sit at the two heads of the table. 

“I’m so glad to see all of my family's faces here,” Madoc greets us while sitting down. “I wasn’t sure that all of you were going to make it.” 

“We’re happy to be here,” Taryn responds sweetly for all of us. 

“Cardan,” Madoc says, turning to him. “I was so thrilled when I heard the good news of you and Jude. I’ve always been so fond of the Greenbriar family.” 

“I’m just happy that Jude lets me be with her,” Cardan responds. 

“Yes, well, how is your family?” Madoc asks. 

“They are all doing quite well. Father is looking to retire soon, so my older siblings are trying to one up each other to be in his best favor,” Cardan explains. 

“Your older siblings?” Madoc questions. “What about you? You surely want some stake in the company?” 

Cardan shrugs nonchalantly. “Being head of the company has never been something that I want. I’ve never been one for business.” 

Madoc narrows his eyes like he’s trying to solve Cardan’s puzzle. “I see,” he responds with little emotion in his voice. 

“Homecoming is next week,” Vivienne says, changing the subject. “That’s really exciting.” 

“Yes it is!” Taryn exclaims. “And Jude, Cardan, and I got some great news today. We’re all a part of Homecoming Court!”

“Really?” Vivi asks me with an amused raised eyebrow. 

“I’m afraid it is,” I reply with a smile. I turn to Oak and tickle his side. “So, you better be nice to me, Oak. You’re sitting at a table with royalty.” 

He sticks his tongue out at me and takes a bite of his steak. 

“This is great news!” Oriana proclaims. “Tomorrow we’ll go dress shopping to get you two the most beautiful gowns money can buy.” 

“I don’t know…” I begin. 

“That sounds great!” Taryn beams. 

“You know I’m in for a good shopping trip, so is Heather,” Vivienne adds before looking at me. “Jude, you’re going.” 

“Fine,” I mumble. 

“What about you Locke?” Madoc wonders. “Do you belong to this so-called Homecoming Court?” 

I look up to an unusually quiet Locke and smirk. I guess Taryn forgot to mention before dinner that her perfect boyfriend was kicked out of school. “Yeah, Locke,” I remark. “Are you even going to the dance?” 

“I’m not actually,” he says simply. 

“Why is that? Oriana inquires. 

“I’ve left Greenbriar Academy,” Locke responds. 

“Why would you do a thing like that?” Madoc pushes. “It’s one of the most prestigious schools in the country.” 

“I just didn’t quite fit with the culture at the school,” he explains quickly. 

“Hmmm,” Madoc grunts. 

“I know, Madoc,” I add. “I thought that it was odd too, especially in the middle of Senior year. But sometimes you just have to leave a bad situation without a fight.” 

Locke glares at me as Oriana begins to talk to Taryn about what dress she wants, and Madoc engages Cardan in more talk about his family. The rest of the evening goes by without a hitch. At the end of the night Cardan drives us back to campus where we fall asleep quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so proud of myself. I updated this in the amount of time I like to update and it’s a little longer chapter than what I’ve been writing. 
> 
> I can’t wait for Homecoming. That’ll probably be next chapter. Also I kinda liked Cardan being a part of Jude’s family life. 
> 
> Also, planning for Halloween to happen, so I need costume ideas. Please comment any ideas! 
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting and kudo-ing. Love y’all!
> 
> Stay safe <3


	23. Chapter 23

Sunday morning, Taryn, Oriana, Heather, Vivienne, and I leave Greenbriar Academy together and go shopping for Homecoming dresses. 

Taryn decides on her dress almost immediately. She chooses an off the shoulder, dark green, ball gown. It has gold swirls tracing to the bottom and a golden belt. 

It takes a lot longer to find my dress. Everyone has an opinion on the look that I should go for, which varies on my own idea of my style tremendously. Oriana likes flashy, Heather and Vivienne like whimsical, Taryn likes feminine, and I prefer a subtle ‘I could kill you’ look. 

“Try this one on,” Oriana throws a dress in my direction. She’s grown impatient with my indecision and just wants to go get some food. 

“I don’t know…” I complain. “This seems a little sparkly.” 

“Just try it on,” Vivienne snaps at me (she has also become hangry). “You need to pick one, Jude. This is getting ridiculous.” 

“It’s not my fault that the rest of you don’t like the dresses I do,” I return while shimmying into hopefully what will be the final dress. “Why are we being so extra about this anyways? It’s just homecoming. Not my wedding or something.” 

I get myself into the dress and walk out of the dressing room. Their reactions are not easy to read. They simply take in the dress instead of flooding out with opinions like they had with every other dress. “Jude,” Heather says finally. “It’s beautiful.” 

I’m curious now, so I look at myself in the mirror behind me. The dress is a strapless mermaid gown with a deep neckline and a sheer midriff. It hugs onto me tightly and it’s a glimmering silver. I shift uncomfortably in the dress. “I don’t know…” I begin. “It seems a little too revealing.” 

“Nonsense,” Oriana says while waving me off. “It fits you and your personality perfectly. This is the dress.” 

“Are you sure?” I ask while examining myself in the mirror again. 

“Yes, Jude,” Taryn tells me. It’s the first time she’s given her opinion to me directly. “It’s perfect.” 

“Yep,” Vivienne adds. “You look like a badass.” 

“A pretty badass,” Heather corrects. 

I return to the dressing room and take off the dress in relief that this shopping trip is over. We then leave the store with two dresses in hand and get some much needed food. 

“Let me see your dress,” Cardan begs, later that night. 

“No,” I tell him again. “I am on strict orders not to let you see it until the night of the dance.”

“Who ordered that?” 

“Vivienne. I would listen to her too,” I tell him as I secure the garment bag in the part of his closet he lets me use. “She can be vicious when provoked. All I can tell you is that it’s silver, so match accordingly.”

“Hmmm,” he mumbles. “I think that you owe me this.” 

I exit the closet and sit on the couch next to him. I snuggle myself under his arm. “You’re the one who owes me.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” he inquires. 

“You owe me a reading of your 8th grade diary,” I remind him. 

“Ahhh,” he sighs. “I had forgotten about that.” 

“Well, I haven’t.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” he tells me. 

“What?” I exclaim. “Cardan Greenbriar, do not test me.” 

He stands up from the couch and stretches out his arms. “Sorry, but you don’t get to read my journal. That would be way too demeaning.” 

“But it’s okay for you to have read mine?” I complain. 

“Yep,” he walks to the bathroom, grabbing a bottle of wine. “Now, if you would excuse me, it’s time for a nice, relaxing bath.” 

“You suck,” I call out to him as he closes the door. 

I listen to the water turn on and run for a bit before I hop off of the couch. He read my diary, so I’m going to read his. I walk over to our bed and look under it for any boxes, in search of his old diaries. With no luck around our bed, I search through his wardrobe. Again, I find no diaries. 

My eyes look around the room, and they fall on his desk. I march over to it and start opening the drawers that line each of it. They are all filled with junk, except for one. The bottom right drawer is locked. I figured that they have to be in there, so I get a bobby pin from my nightstand and jam it into the lock. 

Thankful for The Ghost’s spy lessons, I manage to get the drawer open. Just like I had thought, the drawer is stuffed full of diaries all with years scribbled on the spine. I find the one that belongs to 8th grade and take a seat in his desk chair. 

I open the journal to a random page and begin to read Cardan’s annoyingly perfect handwriting: 

Jude Duarte.   
I can’t not think about her and it’s disgusting. I told Locke that she can’t leave my mind, but he told me that it’s because I hate her too much. He suggested that we play more pranks on her. Him and Valerian seem to enjoy her pain, so I feel that I must too. 

I flip to another page:

Today, Jude wore her hair in a wonderful way. I couldn’t stop staring at her, so she yelled at me to stop. I couldn’t, however, take my eyes off of her when she looked so beautiful. In retaliation, I yanked on her hair until it was ruined. She told me that she hated me and shoved me. Well, I hate her more, and how dare she try and waver my fury with her beauty?

I flip again:

Balekins tells me that I need to choose the right kind of friends. I need to get the right connections now, so I can be successful in the future. After, he made me sword fight him. I was punished after I lost. He told me that I was nothing without him. 

One page simply has Jude written over and over on it. 

I close the journal after reading: 

I heard the song ‘Hey Jude’ for the first time today. It’s the best song I’ve ever heard even if it makes me think of her. I hate Jude Duarte, but mostly I hate myself for the way I feel about her. She’s the only one that doesn’t fall at my feet, and it drives me mad. She’s never out of my mind for it. I just wish that she felt the same I do.

Soon after, Cardan comes out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. I walk over to him and wrap my hands around his neck and into his wet hair. Standing on my toes, I kiss him deeply. 

“What was that for?” he asks with a smirk when I pull away. “I know that I’m handsome, but…” 

I cut him off by kissing his lips again. “I just read something very interesting,” I tell him between kisses. 

“What?” he asks, breaking away. I watch his eyes scan the room, curiously. Eventually, they fall on the journal sitting on his desk. “I thought I told you not to read that.” 

“It’s your own fault for thinking that would work for me.”

“How’d you even find it?” 

“It was in your desk drawers, what do you mean?”

He walks over to his desk and flips through a couple of pages and sighs. “How mortified should I be?” 

I walk over to him and embrace him with a smile. “You shouldn’t be mortified at all, it was much more eloquently written than mine was.”

“Oh no,” he pinches the tip of his nose. “What did I write?” 

“Mostly about how beautiful I am,” I tease. 

“Well, I guess my 8th grade self wasn’t as big of an idiot as I thought.”

Cardan smiles and sweetly kisses me again while taking his towel off and pulling me into bed with him. 

\-----

Friday night, Cardan and I have to go to the football game because we are candidates for Homecoming Court. It’s not nearly as exciting as I want it to be. The Academy gets up by two touchdowns within the first half, so we lose interest quickly. 

During half time, we’re paraded across the field for all the returning alumni to judge and choose who they think should be crowned at the dance tomorrow. Voting took place today, and I honestly can’t wait for this all to be over. 

After our display is over, we return to the stands to sit and cheer for the team. Cardan and I take our places in the student section, and Nicasia soon joins us. “What are you two wearing tomorrow?” she asks. 

“I’m wearing one of my favorite suits,” he replies. “Jude here is apparently going in the nude because she will not let me see what she’s wearing.” 

I roll my eyes. “That is not at all true. Vivienne won’t let you see what I’m wearing.” 

“Vivienne wouldn’t know…” 

“Yes she would,” I tell him. 

Nicasia sighs. “You two are an old married couple,” she complains. “Anyways, I’m coming over tomorrow to get ready with you, Jude.” 

“Okay,” I reply quickly, a little taken back at her forwardness. “Vivienne’s also going to be making an appearance sometime to help me with my hair.” 

“Great, she is the superior sister,” Nicasia says before leaving to go home. 

Once Nicasia leaves, The Ghost takes her seat. He has a silly grin running from ear to ear on his face. “What’s got you so happy?” I inquire. 

“Everythings coming together, isn’t it?” he says dreamily, completely ignoring my question. 

“I suppose it is,” Cardan responds with a smile back. 

“Are you going with anyone to the dance tomorrow?” I ask The Ghost. 

He shrugs slyly. 

“You didn’t!” I exclaim. 

“I did,” he tells me. 

“What did he do?” Cardan asks. “What am I missing here?”

“You asked Taryn to the dance, and she said yes!” I blurt out, ignoring Cardan’s dumb questions. 

The Ghost nods his head. “It’s not a big deal, we’re just going as friends because she’s still in love with Locke.” 

“It most certainly is a big deal! I just lost a bet over this!” I shake my head to myself. Earlier this week, The Roach and I spent all of 4th hour trying to convince The Ghost to ask Taryn to the dance. I didn’t think he would do it, The Roach did. 

“Well done, Garrett,” Cardan proclaims as an underclassman spills some popcorn on him from behind. 

Cardan glares at them and brushes the popcorn off before standing with his hand outstretched to mine. “Come, my dear,” he says as I stand and take his awaiting hand. 

“Some people need to learn how not to act like an imbecile,” Cardan declares loudly enough for the popcorn spillers to hear. 

“You’re so melodramatic,” I complain to him with an eye roll. I turn to The Ghost and wink at him. “Bye Garrett. See you tomorrow at the dance.” 

\-----

Nicasia shows up early the next morning. Cardan and I are still lounging in bed, half naked when she waltzes into the dorm room. “Nicasia!” Cardan calls to her while covering us with a blanket. “What are you doing here? Get out!” 

“Relax, Greenbriar,” she sets down the bag she was carrying. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” 

She begins to unpack her back and throws stuff all over the room as I lean out of bed to grab one of Cardan’s shirts from the floor. “Yeah, Greenbriar. Relax,” I tell him with a smug grin while sliding on the shirt. 

“Your breakfast is here, by the way,” Nicasia tells the both of us as she continues to sort through her contents. 

“Why don’t you get that for us?” I suggest to Cardan with a kiss. 

He grumbles to himself about Nicasia showing up, but he obliges and gets our breakfast tray and sets in on the coffee table after putting on his silk robe. 

After finishing our Saturday brunch, Cardan and I help Nicasia pick out the best hairstyle and makeup to match her very blue dress. “I need to know what you’re wearing, Jude, so I can do your makeup later today,” Nicasia tells me. 

“Fine, but I don’t want the prince over there to see it,” I nod to Cardan drawing on his bed. 

“I won’t peek, I promise,” he says. 

“I don’t believe you,” I reply. 

“Neither do I,” Nicasia adds before the two of us force him to wait in the hall. 

Once Cardan is locked out of his room, I fish out my dress from the spot that I was forced to hide it in. “Here it is,” I unzip the bag and try to show off the dress in a flattering way. 

Nicasia observes the dress carefully nods her head knowingly before saying, “It’s perfect for you, Jude, I know just how I should do your makeup.” 

We let an annoyed Cardan back in the room and turn on some music as Nicasia begins to wrangle her own hair.

Vivienne shows up when Nicasia is almost complete with her hairdo. “Knock knock,” Vivienne announces as she walks through the open door. 

“Hey sis,” I call out from my position of holding Nic’s hair in place as she puts in bobby pin after bobby pin. 

Vivienne walks into the bathroom. “Why is Cardan in such a mood?” she asks. 

“His Royal Highness didn’t get enough beauty sleep,” I reply, loud enough for him to hear. 

Nicasia gets her hair to stay in the proper updo and begins to work on her makeup. Vivienne then starts to work my hair into the same horn hairstyle I wore for Cardan’s birthday party; she claims that it looks best on me and it goes perfectly with my dress. 

When Nicasia finishes her makeup, she begins on mine as Vivienne continues to work at my hair. 

“Are you almost done?” Cardan calls out as it comes close to time for our dinner reservation. “I have to do my makeup too.” 

Nicasia finishes putting on her dress. “Yes, oh noble one. It is safe for you to enter the bathroom,” she tells him before leaving to go to her own dinner reservation.

Vivienne puts finishing touches on my hair as Cardan applies silver highlighter to his sharp cheekbones. I watch him in the mirror, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so handsome. He wears an all black suit with a silver bowtie. His hair is mussed to perfection, and the hair around him oozes perfection and beauty. 

As he finishes getting ready, Vivienne rushes me into the closet to help me into my dress. I slip it on and wait for Vivienne to give me the cue for the ‘perfect’ reveal moment. 

I can hear her shuffle Cardan about the room before calling out. “Alright, Prince Cardan, here is your Princess!” 

I awkwardly walk out of the closet in my dress and do a turn like Vivienne told me. Cardan just stares at me silently. “See, this is so stupid, Vivienne,” I complain. “A big reveal was so unnecessary.”

Cardan walks over to me and pulls me into his arms. He kisses me greedily. “Trust me, Jude, this was completely necessary.” 

Vivienne makes us pose for several pictures after that. We then go out to eat at a fancy restaurant that Cardan likes before we make it to the dance “fashionably late” (Cardan’s choice).

The dance is in the same place as Cardan’s birthday party, and it’s decorated similarly because the theme is ‘Happily Ever After.’ The two of us take pictures at the photo booth before making our way to the dance floor. Cardan spins me around it gracefully as we greet and dance with different people. 

I notice Taryn and The Ghost dancing on one side of the floor happily. Taryn looks absolutely gorgeous and I give her a little wave of good will. I wink at The Ghost, and he goes beet red. 

Not long after Cardan and I started dancing, Dain takes the stage next to the DJ. He stands in front of two large, over the top thrones and clears his throat on the microphone. “Students, students,” he repeats as we quiet down and turn our attention to him. 

“I have the results for Homecoming King and Queen,” Dain announces as the room holds it’s breath in anticipation. “Before the crowing, I would like to congratulate all the nominees for Homecoming Court.” 

A small round of applause spills through the crowd. “Now,” Dain opens the small envelope he was holding. “Your King and Queen are… Cardan Greenbriar and Jude Duarte!” 

“Are you fucking serious?” I say to Cardan as he walks me to the stage. 

Dain crowns each of us and we get to sit side by side in the thrones as the student body claps up at us. “I don’t know about you, but I could get used to this,” Cardan says to me and waves down. “Having royal subjects seems like fun.” 

I roll my eyes as Dain announces that it’s time for the King and Queen dance. Cardan whispers something to the DJ right next to him before he rises, takes my hand, and leads us down to the dance floor. 

Hey Jude by the Beatles starts to play as Cardan and I dance and I shake my head up at him in disbelief. 

“This is like some cliche high school movie,” I say to him while beaming happily. 

He twirls me out and back into his arms before kissing me. “I’ve always liked high school movies,” he tells me. 

I hold onto him tightly and sway with him to our song. “Will you promise something to me?” he whispers into my ear. 

“Of course,” I whisper back immediately.

“Will you promise not to break my heart?” he asks. 

“Only if you promise not to break mine.” 

“I promise.” 

“I promise.” 

As soon as I say it, he slips a ring onto my left hand. I look at it and realize that it’s the ring he had stolen from me a while back, I had forgotten that he even had it. 

“A ring to remind us of our promise.” 

We continue to dance on the open floor and hold on to each other tightly. 

As the song nears the end, Cardan smirks down at me. “You know that this means you have to call me the King now.” 

“Only if you call me the Queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all sorry for the inconsistent updates I’ve been fighting some hard writers block.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this mostly fluffy and happy chapter, cause I did. 
> 
> Also I need Halloween costume ideas for the two of them. I think I have a good idea, but I like using your guy’s ideas. So Halloween costumes?
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting and giving kudos! 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	24. Chapter 24

“Congratulations,” The Roach says as I walk into 4th hour on Monday. 

“Why am I being congratulated?” I ask and sit down at my station. “And you better not say for winning Homecoming Queen.” 

“It has to do with that, yes,” The Bomb tells me with a warm smile. “But that's not what it is.” 

“Then what is it?” 

The Ghost turns around in his chair and holds a plate of cupcakes. “Congratulations. You’re officially one of us. You’re a Shadow.” 

I walk over to him and take a cupcake from the plate with gratitude. It’s red velvet with cream cheese frosting. “Why am I just now being inducted into your secret society?” I say after taking a bite of deliciousness. “I’m a fan of the cupcakes, but I’ve been with your guys all school year.” 

“Well, you weren’t one of us because you didn’t have a code name: until now,” The Bomb squeaks happily. 

“Oh,” I call out, my interest rising quickly. “What is it? It better be something badass.” 

They bang their hands against the desks in a makeshift drum roll to build the suspense.

“We officially dub thee, The Queen,” The Roach announces while raising his cupcake in the air like a goblet. 

The Queen. I think it through as they look at me awaiting gazes. 

“Honestly,” I say. “I don’t hate it. I mean, I would’ve never come up with it for myself, but at least it’s not as bad as The Roach.” 

The Roach rolls his eyes and returns to his station. “Alright, Your Highness. No need to get cocky,” he says to me. “I suggest you continue your work.”

“You’re no fun.”

The Ghost winks at me and turns back around to his computer, and The Bomb gives me a welcoming hug and starts to read a book. I smile to myself and begin to work on my continuing research on the Greenbriar family. 

“Why do I even have to do this?” I complain after reading yet another biography of someone from the Greenbriar line. 

“We all had to,” The Ghost shrugs. “Dain likes us to know as much as we can about the school and the Greenbriars.” 

“Well, it’s stupid,” I reply while turning back around to my computer screen. “I don’t think any of this information is going to help me be a better spy.”

“All information is useful information, no matter how mundane,” The Roach states. 

“Thanks for the sage advice, Yoda,” I tease while rolling my eyes.

Soon after, the bell rings and The Ghost and I walk to lunch together. He breaks away from me when we enter the lunchroom. “Where are you going?” I call after him. 

“To sit with another Duarte,” he replies with a sly grin. 

“I take it that the dance went well for you.”

“It was great,” he blushes and turns away. I watch him walk across the cafeteria and take a seat next to my twin sister. 

I turn around to walk to my usual table with Cardan, but I’m stopped by a different Greenbriar. “Dain,” I state and try to walk around him. 

He grabs my arm to stop me from moving any further away from him. “Can I help you with something?” I ask. 

“Yes,” he replies. “First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your Queenship. For Homecoming and with my Shadows. The Roach filled me in on your new name.” 

“Thank you. Is that all?” 

“Not quite. I’m a bit worried because I haven’t received any new information from you since the whole Locke situation.” 

I shift uncomfortably on my feet and look anywhere but Dain’s eyes. 

“I’m worried because,” he continues. “I’m afraid that you’ve lost focus on your mission due to your involvement with my baby brother.”

“Trust me,” I begin. “If there was anything to tell you, I would tell you. Cardan has nothing to do with that.”

“Good,” Dain narrows his eyes at me in contempt. “I would hate for anything to happen between the two of you.” 

“What are you implying?”

“I think we both know,” he gives me a menacing smile and pats my shoulder. 

I’m about to respond, but a strong arm is wrapped around my shoulder. Charcoal and cranberries flood my nose, so I know that it’s Cardan without turning around. “What’s going on here?” he inquires with mock courtesy. 

“Not much,” Dain replies with the same fake cheerfulness in his voice. “I was just congratulating Jude on winning Homecoming Queen.” 

I nod my head in agreement; technically, Dain’s telling the truth, he did want to congratulate me on becoming Queen. “I see,” Cardan says, unconvinced. 

“Now that you’re here, Cardan,” Dain turns to him. “I wanted to remind you of the family dinner on Saturday.”

Cardan sighs. “Alright, well if that’s what you wanted to tell me,” he begins to turn around, annoyed. “Jude and I will go enjoy what’s left of our lunch.”

“You need to be there, Eldred wants all of his kids there,” Dain states. “Come, eat a fine dinner, introduce your girlfriend to your family. It’ll be good for the entire family for you to show your face at something.”

Cardan rolls his eyes and leads the two of us away from Dain and to our lunch table; Cardan joins in on a lively debate about an upcoming film, so we don’t get a chance to talk about the upcoming dinner. 

“What should I wear Saturday?” I ask Cardan when we arrive at our dorm room after school. 

“Wear to what?” 

“To dinner with your family.”

“Oh,” he takes a bite of a yellow apple and pours a glass of wine. “We’re not going to that.”

“Yes, we are,” I sit down on the bed and face him. 

“Nope.”

“Cardan.”

“I’m not going, but feel free to go and have a grand old time with my family.”

“Why won’t you go?”

“I’ve told you before,” he replies while lazily sitting next to me. “I don’t exactly like my family, and they don’t exactly like me.” 

“That’s what you keep saying,” I say while stealing a sip from his glass of wine. “You’ve never actually told me anything about your family. I just know rumors that float around school.”

“They’re probably all true,” he replies solemnly.

I give him a look and run a hand across his face. “You can talk to me about it.” 

He shrugs and tosses his apple core into a trash can. “There’s not much to talk about. I’m the youngest child and also the mistake. My dad didn’t want me, so he dumped me and my mother to be left alone with some money. 

“However, she left me on his front door when I was 10 and ran off with what was left of my fund. So, to his dismay, I was stuck with him as my only caretaker. Of course, that didn’t work very well. My siblings had all moved out by then; Eldred decided that I needed to too. I was moved around to each of them until Balekin decided that he wanted full responsibility. And I think you know the rest…”

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” is all I can say. I’m not sure what else you can say when you were wanted and adopted by someone who wasn’t even your father, even if that person was Madoc. 

I intertwine my fingers with his. “I still think that we need to go.”

He chuckles softly and rolls his head back. “How did I know that you were going to say that?” 

“Maybe Eldred has had a change of heart,” I offer. “Maybe he feels bad about the way you were treated and wants to make the past right.”

Cardan stands and walks over to the mini bar where he keeps his wine. “I hope you’re right about that,” he says while refilling his glass. 

“So, we’re going?” 

“Would you let me skip it?” 

“Probably not.”

“Then we’re going.”

I smile and walk across the room to wrap my arms around him. “Besides,” Cardans says as I press a kiss to the side of his head. “They’ll love you.”

\-----

Saturday, Cardan tells me not to get dressed up too fancy. So, I decide to wear a pair of skinny jeans and a purple, off the shoulder top. “Can I please help you with that?” Cardan asks me after I mess my eyeliner for the third time. 

I hand the eyeliner over to him in frustration and sit up on the counter. “It’s just not my day for makeup,” I complain as he grabs onto my face to steady it. 

“Is it ever your day for makeup?” he teases with a smirk as he applies the eyeliner. 

“Hey, I’m sorry that I was taught how to kill someone with a knife, not with my looks as a kid.”

Cardan hums a tune and continues to lightly put different makeup products on me. “Alright,” he backs away dramatically. “My masterpiece is finished.” 

I roll my eyes. “Let’s not get too cocky,” I warn as I turn around to look in the mirror. My face looks completely flawless and beautiful. I turn to Cardan as he smugly applies his own highlighter. 

“You were saying,” he smirks. 

“Why are you better at this than me?” I complain and hop off the counter. 

“You said it yourself. You learned about killing someone. I had different interests as a kid,” he shrugs. 

“Well, thanks,” I smile and walk out of the bathroom. I check the time and grab Cardan’s car keys. “We need to go.”

“Alright,” Cardan replies and begrudgingly walks out the door. “We still don’t have to go. I’ll drive us to the coast and we can have a long weekend.” 

“That’s very appealing, but we’re going.”

It isn’t a long drive to Eldreds home, or should I say, castle. Edred lives in a monstrous stone mansion with hundreds of windows, tall towers, and ivy stuck growing against the walls. “This is where you used to live?” I ask Cardan while peering out of the car windows. 

“For less than a year,” he responds after shutting off the car. “Trust me, it wasn’t as much as you would expect.” 

I nod my head and exit the car with him. We meet at the front of the car and I take his hand. “You can do this,” I kiss him for strength. “If needed, I can fake a family emergency.” 

He chuckles and kisses my knuckles before tucking them under his arm. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that.” 

He knocks on the door and it soon opens to reveal one of Cardan’s sisters. “Wow,” she looks him up and down before turning around to call back into the hall. “He actually came!”

“Nice to see you too, Rhyia,” Cardan mumbles and tentatively takes a step inside. 

“Come,” Rhyia says while turning around. “Everyone else has already arrived.” 

She leads us into a great room with a roaring fireplace and a long oak table. “Welcome, Cardan,” another sister comes to greet us. “We weren’t sure that you would be joining us.”

“Here I am.”

“And we’re glad for it,” she turns to me and shakes my hand. “I’m Caelia. You must be Jude, one of Madoc’s.” 

I nod my head. “Yes, Madoc is my adoptive father.”

“We were all so happy to find out that our little Cardan had moved on from Nicasia, and to a very well respected family too,” she says before being called over to help Rhyia with something. 

“So, that was Caelia and Rhyia,” Cardan says to me and motions across the room. “That’s Elowyn talking to Dain. You know who Balekin is, I won’t bother introducing you to my father because he won’t care.” 

I look around the room and try to get the names straight. Eldred sits at the head of the table, Rhyia and Caelia are getting something to drink, Dain is talking to Elowyn by the fireplace, and Balekin peers around the room while a servant refills his glass.

“Everyone else,” Cardan adds and motions to the strangers around the room, “is one of my siblings' many lovers. They’re ever changing, so please, don’t bother with learning their names.” 

He leads us over to a side table and pours himself a glass of wine. Cardan takes a sip before handing it off to a servant standing by the table. “That was awful,” he tells me. “I’m going to the wine cellar to get a good bottle.”

“I think I’ll hang back,” I tell him. “I need to mingle and get to know some of your family.” 

“Alright,” he says. “I’ll be back soon.”

I’m pouring some soda into a cup when someone comes up behind me. “You must be Jude Duarte,” a deep voice says. 

I turn around to find Balekin standing over me with a wicked grin. “Yes,” I reply timidly and try to back away from him, but I’m stopped by a table behind me. “I’m Jude.”

“You’re here with my little brother?” 

“Yes, Cardan and I have been dating for about a month.” 

“I see,” he looks me up and down in keen observation. “I believe that we ran into each other last time I visited Cardan. I would like to apologize for my rude behavior, I was in quite a hurry.” 

“Of course,” I reply, unsettled at how similar he looks to Cardan. “It’s no problem at all.” 

“Good,” he grabs a bottle from behind me. “It was nice to officially meet you. I hope to see you again.” 

I repress a shutter as he walks away from me. I move towards the back of the room, and Dain meets me there. “You know something that I don’t,” he says to me. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Something about Balekin,” he adds. “You were just repulsed by him, and that was him being nice.”

“Maybe I just don’t like him.”

“No, no. That’s not it,” he shakes his head and puts his finger on his lip in thought and lowers his voice. “Must I remind you that you have to tell me anything that I ask. I would hate to call the Dean of Admissions at Columbia and tell them what a secretive student you are.” 

“It’s not my secret to tell,” I spit at him. 

“Trust me, as one of my Shadows, all secrets are yours to tell.” 

“Balekin,” I sigh in regret. “Balekin has been beating and abusing Cardan for years.”

Dain raises his eyebrows in mild surprise. “I had my suspicions, but now I have real proof to back me up. Thank you, Jude, for your contribution.” 

He saunters away from me happily as my head swims with grief over sharing Cardan’s deepest secret to someone I despise. I take a sip from my soda and watch Cardan re-enter the room with a new bottle of merlot. 

I’m walking towards him when several servants enter the dining room and set down the feast of a dinner. Eldred stands and we all turn to face him. “Come children and friends. Lets eat.”

Everyone begins to move towards the table to find their place. I’m searching for Cardan and I’s name tag when he walks over to me and grabs my arm. He leads us to the back of the table where we find our places. 

“How did you know this is where we were going to be sitting?” I ask him as we sit down. 

“I’m always at the end of the table,” he replies. 

Before we begin to eat, Eldred raises his goblet in a toast at the head of the table: “To the Greenbriar line, may it ever be prosperous and long lasting.” 

We toast our glasses and begin to eat the first course. Small conversations break out across the table. Cardan and I talk to Caelia and her girlfriend across the table about our college plans. 

During the main course, Eldred quiets us all. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I gathered you all tonight,” he begins. “I’m also sure that you’ve heard the rumors about my retirement approaching.” 

The siblings all turn to him with their interests peaked, except for Cardan who pours himself another glass of wine. “The rumors are true,” Eldred continues. “I am planning on retiring in November, and one of you will take control of the company.” 

Accusing glares are shot all around the table in eagerness to know who will be the next head of the Greenbriar family. “I am not going to tell you tonight,” Eldred says and the siblings slump slightly. “Truthfully, I haven’t decided yet. I will announce my predecessor at my retirement party that you will all be at. I felt that this was important enough that I needed to let you all know before I break it to the press.” 

“Thank you, father,” Dain says earnestly. “This is very important.” 

“May the best Greenbriar win,” Balekin adds maliciously while raising his glass, and the table echoes back ‘May the best Greenbriar win.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I hope you liked this chapter. Also you guys came through with so many Halloween ideas. Idk how I’m ever going to choose. 
> 
> Anyways we’re about to see some sibling rivalry. And Jude told Dain about Cardan :( so sad about that. Also Jude got her spy name! Yay
> 
> Thanks for reading this! And for the kudos and comments. You guys keep me writing!
> 
> Stay safe <3


	25. Chapter 25

“What a load of crap!” Cardan complains as soon as we get into his car. The rest of his family dinner went by quickly, and right after we finished dessert, Cardan escorted us out. 

“What’s wrong?” I keep my tone upbeat, so he doesn’t start asking questions that I don’t want to answer. 

He groans in response as he puts his seatbelt on. 

“I thought tonight went really well,” I add as I start the car. I pull us out of the driveway and begin to make our way home.

“No, tonight went surprisingly well, ” he sighs. “It’s just insulting that Eldred acts like he hasn’t been grooming Dain to take over Elfhame Enterprises all of his life.” 

I look out my window and see the last of the sun fall under the horizon. “Balekin seemed pretty confident.” 

“Balekin won’t be selected. He may be the firstborn, but that doesn’t automatically make him the favorite.” Cardan runs his fingers across his brow and pinches the bridge of his nose. 

“But what if Dain isn’t selected. Who’s next?” 

“Balekin,” he chuckles. “Eldred likes Elowyn more, but she’s never focused on one thing long enough to be reliable.”

I nod my head and continue to drive while humming along to the radio. More and more buildings flash by, and before we know it, we’re back at school. “So, I’m assuming you’re not going to try to win the company at all,” I say as I lock the car door. 

Cardan puts his arm around me, and we make our way to our dormitory. “Nope,” Cardan replies promptly. 

“You could at least try,” I suggest. “I think you have the right head to control something like that.” 

“Please, Jude,” his tone is becoming more and more exasperated. “There’s no point in me trying for something that I’ll never get in a million years, much less want. I’m still in high school with no business experience or knowledge. It’s just not plausible for me to get it, and I don’t want to be a big business tycoon. That’s just not who I am.” 

“Okay, okay,” I stroke my hand across his face to calm him. “I get it.” 

“Besides,” Cardan says as we enter our building. “The next month is just going to be Dain and Balekin trying to one up each other in any way possible. I don’t want to get in the middle of the two of them.” 

After Cardan unlocks the door to our room, he immediately goes to take a bath. I tell him that I’ll join him, but I need to take care of a few things first. 

I text The Shadows and let them know about Eldred’s retirement. Dain will no doubt be using us to better his chances at being crowned king of the company. It’s better if they know as soon as possible, so they can start preparing. 

Then, I begin to process what my next move will be with Dain. He can’t keep controlling mine, and now Cardan’s life. He knows too many secrets about us. I need to learn a few about him. I plan on doing some research into his past to hopefully find some skeletons. After all, I have been assigned to know everything about the Greenbriars. 

Mentally exhausted, I decide to continue my scheming on a different day. I take off my clothes and sink into the bath and Cardan’s arms. 

\-----

I don’t want to put on my uniform Monday morning. It’s too ill-fitting and it means that I actually have to go to school. I even consider trying out Cardan’s laid back look, but I know that the teachers won’t let me get away with it. 

“Is it too late to take you up on the long weekend offer?” I ask Cardan as I contemplate what to do with my hair. 

“I’m afraid so,” he says while handing me a cup of coffee. 

I graciously take a sip of the steaming cup and give up on doing anything with my tangled mess of hair. “Why?” I complain with a groan. “You were pretty keen on the idea Saturday night.” 

“Yeah, but then I remembered that we’re getting time today to work on our semester project in English.”

“Ugh, we have literally made no progress on that,” I say as I sit down on the couch and take a bite of toast. 

Cardan walks behind me and begins to slowly run a brush through my hair. “I know,” he says. “Which is why we need to go to school today.” 

“That’s definitely not a good enough reason,” I tell him.

He murmurs in agreement and sets the brush down. I tilt my head back to look at him. Cardan presses a kiss against my head and pulls away with a smirk. “Next time, take my offer when I first offer it.” 

I roll my eyes and get off the couch. “You suck,” I complain while pulling him close for a real kiss. 

We then exit our room after grabbing our backpacks and coffee. The October air has a chill to it, so Cardan pulls me close as we make our way across the school lawn to Elfame Hall. As we near the building, Nicasia comes up to us. “Are you guys going to this?” she hands us the flier she was holding. 

The flier is about a costume party/haunted house on Friday night for Halloween at the Furry Taco. “Hell yes, we are most certainly going,” Cardan tells her almost instantly after reading the flier. 

“Good,” Nic says before floating back to wherever she came from.

“That’ll be good for us,” Cardan says as we enter the building. “We need a good party.” 

I let out a laugh. “Yeah, cause we definitely never party,” I respond sarcastically. 

“I said a good party,” he corrects while grabbing my hand and interlocking our fingers. I roll my eyes, and we walk down the hallway to Mr. Scott’s class. 

Fourth hour comes quickly, and I’m very thankful for it. Yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking about ways to learn more about Dain. I get to the basement quickly and dive right into my Greenbriar research. 

“Alright, team,” The Roach announces when everyone gets settled into the room. “We have a lot to discuss.” 

I roll my eyes and turn around my chair. Perfect, I think to myself, the day that he wants to talk, I want to work. 

“So, we all know by now that Eldred is set to retire sometime in November,” The Roach begins. “Obviously, Dain would like to take over the family business. He’s worked at it all his life to be in his father’s good faith, so he would win this. He even became headmaster here to please his father. Frankly, he’s the best choice out of the Greenbriar siblings,” he turns to me, “no offense to you or Cardan, of course.” 

“None, taken,” I respond dryly. “The last thing Cardan wants to do is takeover Elfame Enterprises and get involved with sibling rivalry.” 

“Well, that’s great to hear,” The Roach says cheerfully. “Because we’ve all been assigned siblings to watch and dig dirt up on, and you so happened to get Cardan.” 

Great, another thing to add to my ever growing list of things I’m keeping from Cardan. “How surprising. So, I’m good with my part?” I ask hopefully. 

“No, you also need to keep an eye on your father.”

“Madoc? What does he have to do with this?” confusion can be heard in my voice. 

“He’s been holding meetings with Eldred for several months now,” The Ghost chimes in. “And he met with Balekin yesterday. Dain believes that he’s securing a head spot in the company.” 

“Am I the only one that didn’t know about this?” annoyance rises within me. 

They don’t respond, giving me my answer. “Anyways,” The Roach says, moving past me. “The Ghost will be covering Dain to make sure no siblings send spies his way. The Bomb will have Elowyn and Caelia. I will take Balekin and Rhyia.”

We turn back around to our own computer screens. I do various database searches on Dain, yet I find nothing of interest. I look through police records, school reports, and articles I can find on him, but he has a completely spotless record. He never even got detention in high school. He truly has been groomed to take over the Greenbriar brand. 

It’s almost lunch time, and I’m about to give up on my search when I find an old blog post from about eight years ago. It’s a wannabe gossip page that has 12 subscribers. The article talks about Dain and his lover at the time, Liriope. Apparently, Liriope was pregnant with Dain’s child, but it doesn’t go into any more detail. 

The sight isn’t anywhere close to reliable, but it’s the only thing I’ve found, so I’m hopeful I’m getting closer to understand the cruel inner workings of Dain Greenbriar. 

\-----

“The real question is what are we dressing up as for Halloween?” Cardan blurts out as we’re trying to decide what movie to watch Tuesday night. 

“That’s your biggest concern right now?” 

“Of course,” he says like it’s obvious. “It will be our first couple costume, so we have to come up with the perfect costume.” 

“Eh,” I murmur. “Do we really need to go all out?” 

“Yes!” he exclaims. “I love Halloween. It’s the only night that you can be whoever you want to be.” 

“Alright then, Jack Skellington, what are your brilliant costume ideas?” 

“Now that you bring it up, Jack Skellington and Sally wouldn't be a bad idea…” 

“Nope,” I shoot him down. “I’m not a fan of that movie.” 

“Okay… we’re going to circle back to that, but we have bigger fish to fry right now,” he declares before listing off a few more basic couple costumes. 

Nothing that Cardan suggests feels quite right for the two of us, and he suggests a lot of things. “How long did it take you to come up with this list?” I tease with a smile. 

“Too long, apparently,” he says while sitting next to me on the couch with a huff. “Cause you don’t like any of my ideas.” 

I lay my head in his lap and look up at his sharp jawline. “I like your ideas,” I tell him as his piercing eyes look down at me. “But none of them have clicked yet. I usually don’t go all out for Halloween. I think I’ve gone as Robin Hood for the last three years and a Warrior Elf the three before that.” 

He rolls his eyes in exasperation. “Robin Hood and his Lady would’ve been a great costume! But I refuse to be a part of a costume that’s already been worn.” 

“What about Captain Hook and Tinkerbell?” 

“Love it, but I was Captain Hook last year.” 

“Okay… “ I ponder for a moment. “Something from Alice in Wonderland? I know that you love that book.”

“I was the Mad Hatter when I was a Sophomore.” 

I sigh in annoyance. “The Hunger Games? Peeta and Katniss definitely fit our vibe.”

He shakes his head. 

“Let me guess,” I roll my eyes. “You did that when you were a Freshman.” 

“Eighth grade, actually,” he says with a smirk. 

I sit up in a flurry. “This is insane!” I exclaim. “How is it even possible for you to have worn everything I just listed?” 

“I’m sorry that we both have good costume taste,” he shrugs his shoulders. 

“Let’s just decide tomorrow,” I suggest. “What movie do you want to watch?” 

“Why do you even have to ask? I will always say The Princess Bride,” as soon as he says it, his eyes grow to the size of the moon. It’s like a lightbulb clicked, and Cardan jumps off of the couch excitedly. 

“What’s your problem?” 

“The Princess Bride! Why didn’t I think of it before now? I would be the perfect costume for us: Westley and Princess Buttercup!” He announces to me happily. 

I mull it over in my mind and look at Cardan grinning stupidly in front of me. “Fine,” I mumble. 

“Yes!” he pumps a fist in the air victoriously. 

“Wait-” he stops and looks at me. “If we dress up as The Princess Bride, I get to Westley and you get to be Buttercup.” 

He sits back down and raises an eyebrow. “That seems backwards.” 

“It’s actually completely forward,” I tell him. “Westly is the knight that saves Buttercup. Think about it. Who, between us, would be the damsel in distress and who would be the knight in shining armor?” 

“Okay, okay,” he nods his head, still happy about our costume decision. “I’ll be the damsel, and you’ll be the knight.” 

He kisses me happily and cuddles me into his arms. “Our costumes are going to be killer.”

\-----

As we find out Friday night, our costumes are killer. Cardan wears all red. He has knee high boots, skinny jeans, a loose bell-sleeved shirt, and a silver crown. I wear an all black outfit with a pirate-like shirt, optional mask, and a thin, silver sword to carry around. Honestly, the best part of our costumes is the fact that we already had all that we needed in our closet (mostly from Cardan’s side). 

The Furry Taco is in full swing when we arrive fashionably late to Cardan’s liking. Everyone from school is crowded in the small restaurant in one form or another; the party is downstairs, but the haunted house is on the upper floor in the unrenovated part. 

The Bomb and The Roach find us while we stand in line to get some tacos. “Hey guys!” The Bomb calls out as she approaches. 

I examine their costume. They’ve swapped into each other. The Bomb is the The Roach, and The Roach is the Bomb, which is quite comical because they have very different styles and body shapes. “That is a great costume,” I let out through a laugh. 

“She made me do it,” The Roach grumbles. 

“Well, it’s superb,” Cardan says as we near the ordering counter. “And that’s coming from an expert on Halloween costumes.” 

The Bomb smiles. “It’s inconceivable, but your costume is much better than ours, Princess Buttercup and Sir Westley.” 

“How very kind of you,” Cardan says with a curtsy. I roll my eyes and give a bow with a flourish of my sword. 

The four of us get some tacos and manage to navigate through the dance floor and to an open booth without any disasters. “Alright, Buttercup,” I pull on Cardan’s arm after finishing eating. “It’s haunted house time.” 

He groans. “Do we have to?” 

“Yes,” I reply and drag him out of the booth with me. I take him to the stairs before he can object anymore. Before we enter I kiss him quickly. “Don’t worry, darling,” I tease.

“You better protect me. I hate being scared,” he pouts. 

“As you wish.”

Cardan was right when he said that he hated being scared. The house wasn’t even scary or long, but at every movement or pop out from the creatures of the night, he would jump, cover his eyes, or hold on to my hand even tighter. Sometimes I thought he was faking it just to get closer to me. 

“You really are a damsel in distress,” I complain after we return back to the party floor. 

“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing I had you there to protect me.” 

“I truly don’t know how you survived without me,” I say as we walk to the punch table where we run into Nicasia. 

She, of course, looks absolutely stunning in her mermaid costume. She wears a white shell crop top, a blue, tight skirt that flares at the bottom, pearl and sea shells jewelry cover her body, and she holds a large golden trident. “I’m so glad that you guys made it,” she says and gets some punch of her own. “It was getting quite dull in here, and you guys always spice it up.”

“We’re glad we’re here too,” Cardan says while placing an arm around my shoulder. 

“We need to dance, immediately,” Nicasia says. She doesn’t wait for an answer, instead, she pulls the two of us by the arm into the middle of the dance floor. Not minding at all, Cardan and I begin to whirl and flit to the music at Nicasia's side. 

After a few songs, Cardan and I shuffle off of the dance floor, leaving a very flirty Nicasia in someone’s arms. The two of us retreat to a booth to drink some punch and eat some Halloween candy. 

Before we know it, Locke and Taryn slide into our booth on the opposite side. I tilt my head, unsure what I should do. It would be rude to kick them out, but I definitely didn’t feel like dealing with their drama tonight. “Hey guys…” I draw out. “What’s up?” 

“Not much,” Locke answers while putting his hand across the table to do some handshake with Cardan. “Just wanted to see how my best mate has been handling my absence from school.” 

“Surprisingly well,” Cardan says cooly while leaning back and stretching his arm around my shoulders. 

“That’s good to hear.” 

We sit awkwardly for a minute before I decide to break the ice. “I like your costumes.” 

Taryn is dressed all in gold with a headband that has rays shooting out from it. Locke wears orange ears, a white shirt, and a stylish orange jacket. 

Taryn sighs in distress as soon as I remark on their outfits. “We planned on going as the sun and the moon, but somebody decided that he didn’t want to do that,” anger and annoyance can be heard in her voice. “So, now, we’re the sun and a fox.” 

“I think it could work,” Cardan adds politely. 

“No, it doesn’t work,” Taryn remarks. “Locke looks great, people know who he is. My costume doesn’t make sense, I’ve been asked several times if I’m a golden Statue of Liberty.” 

Cardan and I stifle a chuckle. 

“I’m sorry, babe, you know I am,” Locke coos and kisses her forehead. “I didn’t want you to be upset, but I like to be a fox for Halloween. My orange hair is the one good thing that Liriope gave me. It would be a crime if I didn’t dress as a fox.” 

Taryn sighs again, but she doesn’t disagree with him. “Wait-” I say, catching on to what he said. “Is Liriope your mother?” 

“Yes…” he seems suspicious, but his tone turns back to normal. “Well, she was until she died about eight years back.” 

I’m about to ask him another question about her, but Taryn stops me. “Oh my gosh!” she exclaims and jumps out of the booth. 

We all turn to see her embrace The Ghost who is dressed in silver with a large, circular hat. “This is unbelievable, Garrett, how did you pull this off in time?” 

“Oh, you know,” he says while looking down at his feet. “You said that you need a moon… so here’s your moon.” 

“You are literally the best. When I texted you, I didn’t think you would have enough time to come up with a good costume, but this is great,” Taryn spills out with a smile. 

Locke gets out of the booth and kisses Taryn on the head before patting The Ghost on the shoulder. “Thanks, man, I’m glad Taryn could have the costume that she wanted.” 

Taryn then pulls The Ghost off to the photo booth with a happy grin, and Locke saunters behind them slyly. 

“That was interesting,” I state once they’re out of ear shot. “I’m glad Garrett saved Taryn’s costume.” 

“Me too,” Cardan says while grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the dance floor. “Why were you so interested in Locke's mom?” 

“No reason,” I reply swiftly. “I just saw something about her in an article I was reading for my journalism class. I didn’t know she was Locke’s mom.”

He nods his head and doesn’t ask anymore questions. We dance for a little bit longer before retiring back to our dorm room to watch The Princess Bride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty I literally loved writing this chapter, so I really hope you guys like it as much as I do. 
> 
> Jude’s making some discoveries that will probably come in handy... also Locke makes an appearance and I still hate him. 
> 
> Much love sent out to all of my readers. Thanks always for the kudos and reads and comments. Love y’all 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	26. Chapter 26

The Wednesday after Halloween, Cardan and I were laying on the school lawn. The November air had a slight chill to it and we worked on our semester English project together diligently. “Can we take a break?” Cardan begs while sipping on his latte. 

“We literally started working ten minutes ago,” I reply while continuing to create a presentation. “We need to stop procrastinating.” 

“Why though?” He rolls over onto his back and lazily throws a ball into the air. 

“Life is about to get crazy: finals are approaching, and your father's retirement party is in a couple of weeks. The last thing we need to be worrying about is this project,” I explain while grabbing the ball from the air. 

He groans in response and turns back to his book where he’s supposed to be pulling quotes to go along with our arguments. We work for another ten minutes before Cardan starts to complain again. “I think we have a really good start. We can definitely take a break now,” he tries and persuades. 

“Cardan…” I begin to warn, but he cuts me off with a gentle kiss. He digs his hands into my hair, and I clutch the front of his shirt and pull him closer as the kiss deepens. 

I recline back onto the blanket, careful not to separate our lips. Cardan leans over me while moving his lips down to my neck. I tug on his hair, and his mouth grazes on my slowly before consuming them once again. 

We intertwine into each other further until something hits the two of us with a thud. Cardan withdraws his lips from mine regretfully and turns to see Nicasia standing over us. “What?” he demands. 

“This is a public place,” she states with her arms crossed. “We don’t want to watch you two swallow each other.” 

Heat rushes to my face in embarrassment, but Cardan only smirks proudly. I sit up and run a hand through my hair. “Besides,” Nicasia adds. “You two are missing some serious drama.” 

She motions towards the parking lot where I can see Taryn and Locke at the front of his car. She’s waving her hands furiously and yelling at him, while he seems to be trying to calm her down. “What’s going on?” I ask Nicasia. 

“I’m assuming the inevitable breakup,” she states and sits down next to me. “It’s overdue, in my opinion.”

We all lean back and continue to watch the argument progress. It eventually ends with Taryn throwing something at Locke and then marching off towards her dormitory. Locke shakes his head before getting into his car and driving away quickly. “Wow,” Cardan says after the couple is gone from view. “That was climactic.” 

“Ugh,” Nicasia stands up and stretches. “That was way too much teen angst for one day, I’m gonna go find my girlfriend.” 

“Do you think Taryn and Garrett will get together now?” Cardan inquires and lays back on the blanket. 

I snuggle myself under the crook of his arm and interlace our fingers together. “I hope so.” 

We procrastinate for a while after that by watching the clouds pass by above us. Cardan hums a mellow tune to himself. I trace circles on his chest with my free hand and lose myself in Cardan’s embrace. 

The next morning, The Ghost wears a bright smile when Cardan and I walk into calculus. “What’s got you so chipper?” Cardan asks him while sitting on top of my desk. 

“Oh you know,” he replies pleasantly. 

“Does this have anything to do with my sister and Locke breaking up?” I inquire with a raised eyebrow. 

He nods his head. “Taryn and I are going out tomorrow night.” 

“Congrats, mate,” Cardan gets off my desk and grins at me. “I will warn you though, dating a Duarte can be a handful.”

I smack him on the arm, and he walks to his awaiting desk with his hands raised in surrender. “Sadly,” I say to The Ghost when Cardan is out of earshot. “He’s correct. Although, Taryn’s much easier to get along with than I am.” 

He chuckles quietly to himself as class begins. 

The morning hours blow by quickly, soon I’m sitting in our basement classroom with my fellow Shadows. I’m browsing through various websites for any information on Liriope and her affair with Dain. 

I find her obituary. It mentions that she only had one child, and she loved her husband a great deal. It also discusses her carefree, lovely nature and her close friendships with several people including Oriana. 

Then, I find some pictures from her funeral service. Oriana is in a picture that is dated a few days before Oak’s birthday; however, she doesn’t look like she’s about to give birth, she doesn’t look pregnant at all. I make a mental note to ask her about Liriope when I see her next. 

A little before the period is over, The Roach stops all of us from the various things we’re doing. “Okay,” he begins. “It’s update time on our siblings.” 

The Ghost and The Bomb rattle off their reports for The Roach quickly. “Nothing has really changed for me,” I tell The Roach when it’s my turn. “Cardan still doesn’t want the company.” 

He nods his head and writes something down on his notepad. “Okay, and Madoc?” 

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know what he’s up to. I haven’t talked to him for a while.” 

“Well,” he says sternly. “I need you to change that. Dain is worried about him. We don’t have any intel on what he’s doing.” 

I roll my eyes. “Fine, I’ll get some coffee or something with him after school.” 

“Good,” The Roach states. “Give me an update after.” 

I nod my head and turn back around in my chair before shooting a text to Madoc about meeting him after school today. He replies not long after, and we agree to get a cup of coffee at a coffee bar close to campus. 

The bell sends us to lunch right where I find Cardan sitting at one of our normal tables. “I have to get coffee with Madoc after school today,” I tell him, displeasure in my voice. 

“Why?” he asks with interest. 

“I don’t know,” I shrug my shoulders. “Probably to convince me to convince you to take over the family business. He wanted to meet.” 

He nods his head without needing any more explanation. I hate how easily the lie rolled off of my tongue. 

\-----

Madoc’s waiting for me when I arrive in the coffee bar after my classes get out. He’s drinking his coffee black and has already ordered me an americano. I sit down across from him and take a sip from my awaiting drink. “So, Jude, why did you want to meet today?” 

“Am I not allowed to want to see you?” I reply cooly. 

“We just haven’t been on good terms lately,” he responds without much thought. “I raised you, so I know you don’t do much without a purpose.” 

I take another sip before responding. I’m going to have to be smart about this, so he doesn’t withhold anything from me. “I got into Columbia,” I tell him. “I just thought you should know.”

He raises his eyebrow in surprise at my announcement. “Congratulations,” he praises. “Of course, there was no doubt in my mind if you were to get in or not.” 

“Thanks,” I force a smile. “I can’t wait to be in New York City next year. It’ll be a nice change and to make it better, Cardan will be there too, he’s going to NYU.” 

Madoc nods his head with interest. “So, things are serious with the two of you?” 

“Yes, things are going really well,” I reply with a light tone in my voice. “But, he’s been so stressed out lately. I’m sure that you’ve heard of Eldred’s upcoming retirement.” 

“Indeed I have,” he shifts in his chair. “Oriana and I received invitations to his party. Has Cardan decided that he wants a hand in Elfame Enterprises?”

“Not exactly,” I explain. “He’s just tired of all the sibling rivalry, so he wants Eldred to choose quickly.” I look up to Madoc and sigh. “Sorry that you won’t have a hand in the company. At least not with me and Cardan.”

He examines me up and down curiously. “It’s quite alright, actually.” 

“Does that mean you have a play with a different sibling?” I ask, trying to keep my interest down, so he doesn’t get suspicious. 

Madoc tilts his head from side to side as if he were weighing options in his mind. “Lets just say I have a couple of horses in the race.” 

“Balekin?” 

“That’s one of them, yes,” he says with self-satisfaction and pride. 

I nod my head. “Does Oriana know what she’s going to wear to the retirement party?” I ask, changing the subject before he starts asking questions back. “Because it’s supposed to be really fancy, and I don’t have anything nice enough.” 

\-----

Later that evening, Cardan and I chill in our room together. He’s watching something on the TV, while I try to carefully paint his fingernails. “What did Madoc want today?” he asks while examining the first coat on his right hand. 

“What I thought he wanted,” I reply while pulling his hand back to me to start the second coat. “He just was curious if you were planning on making a play for your father’s company.” 

Cardan chuckles. “I’m most definitely not.” 

“That’s what I told him,” I respond dryly. 

I’m applying the top coat to his nails when someone busts into the room. I jump up, ready to fight whoever it is. Locke is (barely) standing straight in the doorway with an almost empty bottle of wine in one of his hands. “Locke?” Cardan questions. 

“Hey,” he staggers to the couch facing us and plops down on it. 

I look down at Cardan with shock, but he has the same surprised look as me. “Please continue with whatever you were doing,” Locke says while waving his hand at me. “Don’t let me stop you.” 

I slowly sink back down onto the couch and quickly finish Cardan’s last finger. “What are you doing here?” Cardan asks. 

Locke shrugs. “I don’t really have anywhere else to go, and remember when you told me that your door was always open?” 

“That was a long time ago. That was before-”

“Before Taryn dumped me. Before I got expelled for drugs. Before I hit on Jude while dating Taryn,” he takes another gulp of his bottle. “Trust me, I love a dramatic story, but even this is a little much for me.” 

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough to drink?” Cardan asks as Locke drinks the last of his wine. 

“Probably,” Locke exclaims. “You know what I do need, though.” 

“No, what?”

“A good revel, like what we used to have: lots of booze, drugs, girls, and bad decisions. Lets have one, this Saturday night, at my place. You can even bring Jude along,” he drunkenly motions to me. 

“Is that really the best idea?” Cardan asks with concern. 

“Of course it is!” Locke states while standing up with a slight sway. “I have to go home and start to plan.” 

“Woah, hold up,” Cardan stands up too and grabs onto a wobbling Locke. “I’m going to drive you home.” 

He begins to lead Locke out of the room before turning back to me. “I’ll be right back,” he promises as they leave. 

I let out a sigh at Locke’s uncommon outrageousness. His ‘revel’ doesn’t seem like it’ll be much fun for me, but I need to go. I need to know more about Liriope and the best way will be to get inside the house she lived. 

I lay on the couch and watch TV as I wait for Cardan to return. About half an hour after Cardan left, he returned. He sits on the couch and puts my head in his lap. “How’d that go?” I ask. 

He exhales slowly. “About as good as you would expect. I’m sorry about all of that,” he apologizes. 

“It’s not your fault.” 

“I guess, but I am worried about him. I haven’t seen him like that in a very long time.”

I grab Cardan’s hand and press a kiss to his knuckles before tracing the lines on his palm. “It’s not your responsibility to take care of him,” I tell him. 

“I know, but he was my best friend for so long. It’s hard to let go of my old habits.”

“Would it help if we went to the revel?” I ask. 

“I’m not going to put you through that,” Cardan states. “I don’t think you would like it very much.” 

“It’s fine, it really is,” I say to him. “I think it will be good for you to be there for your friend. Besides, I’d love to see where someone as twisted as Locke grew up.” 

\-----

“It seems like we’re always going to a party,” Cardan complains while putting on his makeup. 

We’re getting ready for Locke’s revel that neither of us truly want to go to. “We are always going to a party,” I correct. “And it’s so stupid. We need a weekend without a social gathering.” 

“I completely agree,” Cardan puts in a single dangling earring, and we’re ready to go. After grabbing our jackets, we exit the dorm room and get into Cardan’s awaiting car. 

Locke’s estate is outside of town, so it takes a fair amount of time to get there. When we eventually get there, the revel is already bustling inside and outside Locke’s house. Cardan parks his car and gives the keys to me (I’m the designated driver tonight). 

With Cardan’s arm around my shoulders, we walk through the front door and into a puff of smoke. Cardan leads the two of us through the excessively large entryway and into the kitchen. He pours himself a glass of wine, and I get a coke.

We then walk through a door and into one of the many living rooms. Once we enter the room, Cardan and I are greeted by a vivid Locke. He has a girl under each arm and manages to take a drag on whatever he’s smoking. “Cardan!” he exclaims when he sees us. 

He leaves the girls behind and embraces Cardan with a flourish. “I’m so glad that you could make it. Isn’t this great? Just like the good old days,” he says while looking around at the various beautiful people perched around the room. 

“It definitely takes me back in time,” Cardan replies. 

“Who are all these people?” I ask Locke curiously. I haven’t seen anyone that I recognize. 

Locke shrugs and looks at his guests with a sly smirk. “Just some people I’ve come to know over the years. I’ve learned that they’re usually up for anything,” he winks at me before turning back to Cardan. “I’m sure Cardan can remember.” 

Cardan nods stiffly before Locke is whisked away after someone calls his name from across the room. The two of us spend the next hour chilling, attempting to make small talk, and dancing a little bit. 

“I’m going to go find a bathroom,” I tell Cardan as he refills his glass of wine. 

“Okay, do you want me to go with you?” he asks. 

“No, that’s alright. I think I’ll be fine.” 

I leave him and rush through the house and up the stairs to the second floor. I look through different rooms quickly and carefully until I come across what must be Liriope’s old room. 

Pictures of her with her family line the wall and there’s a large canopy bed in the center of the room. The desk still has an open book on it and everything has a thin layer of dust on it. 

I carefully search through the drawers of her desk, but when I don’t find anything useful, I search through her closet. I rummage through the room thoroughly without any luck. I’ve been away from the party for too long, so I decide to give up on my search. 

As I’m leaving the room, I see a jacket and purse on a chair by the door, as if they were about to be taken out. The purse has nothing useful, but I find a note in the pocket of the jacket that reads: 

I promise to take care of him. DG won’t know that you gave birth. We will love him dearly. As per your wishes, his name is Oak. -O burn this when you get the chance

Once I read through it, I read through it again and again and again. Shock rolls though me. Oak, my beloved baby brother is actually a Greenbriar. Oriana adopted him to protect him. This is dangerous information. If Dain, or anyone, knew about this, they could use it in their plot to get Elfame Enterprises. 

I stuff the note into my bag and turn to the door. I’m about to open it, when Locke marches in. “Nobody is supposed to be in here!” he screams angrily before realizing that it’s me. 

“Oh,” he states, his voice softer. “Jude.” 

“Sorry,” I reply. “I was looking for the bathroom, but I somehow managed to get in here.” 

“It’s alright,” his sad eyes look slowly around the room. He walks through the doorway and sits on the bed. 

“Are you okay?” I ask, trying to be polite. 

“Yeah, I just haven’t been in here in years.” 

I sit down next to him. “What happened to your mom?” I asked. 

“Car crash. She drove right off a bridge. She didn’t even break or anything. Nobody knows how it happened.” 

I look at him with sympathy. He leans down into me, but I immediately stand up. “Well,” I announce. “Cardan is probably wondering where I am.” 

I rush away from Locke and into the hallway, but he chases after me. “Wait! Jude, I’m not done with you.” 

He grabs my hand and stops me. “Get away, Locke, I’m not interested.” 

“I think you are,” he rumbles and puts a hand on my waist, leaning in for a kiss. 

In response, I swing my right arm and punch him across the face. As he begins to double over, I grab his arm and twist it around to his back. I push him against the wall aggressively, and he falls to the floor. “I can’t believe I felt sorry for you,” I fume before rushing down the stairs. 

I find Cardan and grab his hand to pull him out the door. “We’ve got to go,” I tell him as we exit the front door. 

“What? Why?” he exclaims. 

“Let’s just say we’ve extended our welcome, and the host wouldn’t be too happy if we stayed much longer.” 

We get into the car and I rush us out of the driveway. “What did you do to him?” Cardan asks with curiosity in his voice. 

“I didn’t do anything, just defend myself.” 

“Okay… what did he do?” 

“Tried to kiss me after I told him to get away.” 

“That son of a bitch,” Cardan mumbles quietly to himself along with a few other curses. “Turn this car around, I need to have a word with Locke.” 

“No, no,” I say while continuing my course home. “As much as I would love to see that, I think I talked to him enough for the both of us.” 

We’re quiet the rest of the way home. “You’re okay though,” Cardan asks after I pull into the school’s parking lot. “He didn’t hurt you?” 

“Trust me, he’s the one who’s hurt.” 

Cardan smiles at my answer and kisses me on the lips before getting out of the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! I hope you liked the update! Sorry it took me forever, but I kind of took a break from everything. But I feel good, so hopefully I can get the new chapters written and out to you guys in a timely manner. 
> 
> Anyways... Locke still sucks. Taryn and The Ghost! And still love drama free Jurdan (be prepared for the upcoming angst). Next chapter will probably be the big reveal: who will take over the company??? I think we all have an idea. 
> 
> Okay then... thanks always for commenting and dropping kudos. I love all of you. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	27. Chapter 27

It’s a week from Thanksgiving, and Eldred’s retirement party is fast approaching in two days. I still haven’t found out any new information regarding Oak, and I also haven’t found a dress. So, after school Cardan decides that he’s going to take me to his favorite clothing store. 

He takes us to a small boutique called Beaux Vêtement in the next town over. It’s a quaint little shop with various suits and dress pants on one side, with mid to floor length dresses on the other. “So, this is where you get your most dashing outfits,” I remark while examining a cape on a mannequin. 

“What can I say?” Cardan replies smugly. “Rochelle knows exactly what I like.” 

“Who’s Rochelle?” As I ask, a petite, gray haired lady walks through a curtain from the back. 

“Cardan!” she exclaims while giving him a hug and kissing both of his cheeks. She babbles something in French, and Cardan returns something without missing a beat. They continue on with their cheerful conversation not even realizing I’m there, until I clear my throat impatiently. 

“Oh!” Cardan says and brings me closer to Rochelle by placing an arm around me. “Rochelle, this is my girlfriend, Jude.” 

“Lovely!” she says while pulling me into a hug. “I’m sure you’re an exceptional woman if you’re willing to put up with Cardan.” 

I laugh. “He can be a handful at times.” 

“I know, such a diva,” she jokes. 

Cardan scoffs. “I’m right here!” He reminds us. 

Rochelle only rolls her eyes and winks at me. “I can only assume that you’ve made the trip here to pick out your formal wear for your father’s retirement party Saturday night. Typical for you to leave it for the last minute.” 

“How do you know that we’re in here for that?” Cardan asks. “And how do you even know about the party?” 

“Everyone who knows about the party,” she responds while leading us to sit down by a couple of dressing rooms. “And, please, teell me I’m wrong about you having nothing to wear.” 

Cardan sighs. “I can’t tell you that.” 

She mumbles something under her breath before leaving us on a couple of small white couches. The two of us watch her browse around her own store and grab multiple different dresses and suit jackets. She returns with her arms overflowing with things to try on. “Don’t you think this is too much?” Cardan asks her. 

“Nonsense,” she scoffs before pushing us into separate dressing rooms with an assortment of outfits to try on. 

Cardan and I each take turns trying on the clothes Rochelle gave us and exiting the dressing room with grand flourishes. Around the fifth reveal, Cardan finds his perfect outfit with both Rochelle and I’s approval. It’s an all black tuxedo with several black feathers that cover his shoulders and trickle down his arms. 

It takes a few more tries to get my dress right. Eventually, Rochelle and Cardan declare that we found the perfect dress. The dress is black mermaid ball gown with a deep v-neck and cape sleeves. 

After deciding on accessories, we make our purchase and say goodbye to Rochelle. Then we return to our dorm room to relax and watch Netflix. 

\----- 

Like every other time I have to look good, Vivienne comes over to help me get ready. “Are you guys excited?” she asks Cardan and I as she tries to wrangle my hair. She decided to recreate the horns-out-of-hair-look that she created for Cardan’s birthday party a million years ago. 

“Oh yeah, we couldn’t be happier to go and see Dain get everything he wants in life,” Cardan responds dryly. 

“I’m excited for the food,” I add, trying to lighten the mood. 

“So, Dain’s definitely going to get Elfhame Enterprises?” Viv inquires. 

“Yeah,” Cardan sighs while taming his hair with some gel. “The real question is who is the successor going to be.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Who’s going to get the job if Dain were to die,” I explain to Vivienne. 

“Or mysteriously disappear, or be murdered, or get lost at sea,” Cardan lists off. 

“Eldred is going to determine the successor list tonight,” I continue to tell Viv, ignoring Cardan. “All the siblings will be on the list, so there’s always a Greenbriar next in line for the head of the company.” 

Vivienne nods her head in understanding and finishes the left side of my head. “You may not get the company, but you could be high on the list,” Vivienne says hopefully. 

Cardan rolls his eyes and starts to do his makeup. “Please, I’ll be last on the list, and Balekin will be first in line. So, when Dain goes missing next year guess who’s going to get the company?”

“Balekin is not going to kill his own brother,” I tell Cardan. We’ve had this very same conversation several times over this week, and I’m getting tired of it. 

“I think you’d be surprised at how Balekin treats his family,” Cardan tells me with a dark look in his eyes. I’m reminded of the abuse I witnessed not too long ago. He takes a seat on the counter, and I grab his hand to remind him that he’s not alone. 

Vivienne finishes my hair without any more questions before her and Cardan tag team on my makeup. After our hair and makeup are considered perfect, Cardan and I change into our formal wear. 

Viv makes us pose for a few pictures before leaving to put on her own dress for the party. As soon as we take our seat in his car, Cardan pulls my lips to his. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he whispers to me. 

“Cardan…”

“I’m serious, you look like a fucking Queen.” 

I look into his black eyes, and they look back with a deep intensity. We kiss again with passion. “You’re my King,” I say to him when the kiss breaks. 

He starts the car and pulls out of the school parking lot as I turn the radio on to my favorite 80s station. We sing along to the classic songs and try to relax before the stress of the party takes us over. 

The celebration is at a massive country club outside of town. The parking lot is filled when we arrive, and we sit and watch the many beautiful people stream into the building before Cardan turns his BMW over to the awaiting valet. 

Inside, the affair is already in full swing. The ball room has massive ceilings and people are sprawled from wall to wall in their best attire. Half of the room is covered in circle tables with white clothes, while the other half is a dance floor that already has people waltzing on it to the chamber orchestra. 

Food and drinks are being served on one side of the dance floor, and Cardan immediately steers us in the direction of the bar. Cardan orders a glass of wine as soon as we reach it. “I.D. please,” the bartender says to him. 

Cardan sighs in annoyance and I look at him with surprise, I had forgotten that we’re technically too young to drink. “Here,” Cardan says while holding it out for him. “This should clear it up.” 

“I’m sorry sir,” the young man says, “but you’re not over the age of 21.”

Cardan rolls his eyes angrily and I let out a confused laugh. “I realize that,” he says through gritted teeth. “But if you had any sense, you would have seen that my name is Cardan Greenbriar. As in the son of Eldred Greenbriar, the reason for this meaningless party.” 

The bartender turns away with a quick, “sorry sir,” to get Cardan’s drink.

“That was really unnecessary,” I say to Cardan as I take a glass of water from a passing server. “He’s just doing his job, you don’t need to be a jerk.” 

“You’re right,” Cardan sighs. “I’m just really anxious.” 

The bartender returns with Cardan’s wine. “Thanks a million,” Cardan says while giving him a hefty tip. “Sorry for being an asshole.” 

We take our drinks to an empty table and watch people pass by. I examine the room and manage to catch glimpses of The Bomb in a server’s uniform, The Roach sulking on the edge of the room, and The Ghost latched onto Taryn. I’m about to ask Cardan to dance when I see my family approaching. 

Madoc wears his dress uniform from the army, Oriana looks lovely in her white dress, Taryn wears blue (The Ghost having a matching bow tie), Vivienne wears a beautiful lavender dress, and Heather holds her hand in a soft pink gown. 

“Hey guys,” I stand to greet them with a smile. Oak runs out from behind Oriana (in the cutest little tuxedo), and into my arms for a hug. “How are you?” I ask him and wonder why Madoc would bring him to something like this. He’s usually left home with Tatterfell. 

“I’m good,” he tells me and returns to Oriana’s side. 

“What about all of you?” I ask the rest of the group in front of me. “Are you guys having a good time?” 

“Yes,” Oriana replies warmly. “We’re having a wonderful time.” 

“Us too,” I motion to Cardan who joined me by standing at my side.

Madoc nods stiffly while looking at Cardan and I with judgemental eyes. “We’re just anxious to hear Eldred’s decision.”

“Aren’t we all,” Cardan responds with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “Although, I think we all know that Dain has the best chance.” 

“Yes,” Madoc says with an untrustworthy smile. “I think we do all know that.” 

Then, Madoc takes Oriana and Oak to another table. “What about you, Garrett?” I say, turning to The Ghost. “Anything I should know about?” 

“No,” he responds with a slight smile. “All is well.”

I nod my head, “same here.” That was our decided response before the party started to let each other know if anything was going wrong with The Shadows. 

“Well,” Taryn begins to pull The Ghost towards the dance floor. “We’re going to go dance now.” 

Cardan and I take our seats again. Vivienne and Heather sit next to us and start to ask us about our night so far. 

After munching on some hors d’oeuvres, I convince Cardan to dance with me. The music isn’t the typical sound that I like to dance to, but, of course, Cardan waltzes the two of us around the floor with poise. 

We dance to a couple of songs before the musicians begin to play a song that I immediately recognize. They play an instrumental rendition of Hey Jude. I look up at Cardan who beams down at me dreamily. “How did you…” I begin to ask before stopping myself. “Nevermind, I don't want to know.” 

I kiss him slowly before pulling away. He holds me close against his chest with my arms around his neck. Charcoal and cranberries surround me, and I’m lost in his arms. “Jude,” Cardan says softly to me. 

I look into his black, gentle eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he says barely above a whisper. “Actually, I’ve been wanting to tell you for quite some time.” 

The song nears its end and Cardan breathes in and out before saying. “I’m in love with you, Jude Duarte, and I have been for several years now. It’s just taken a while to realize it. I love you.” 

As he tells me this, I go into a small shock. I study his face carefully and watch his eyebrow to see if he’s lying, but it doesn’t twitch once. I twist our ring around on my finger while trying to respond. 

I decide that I need to tell Cardan about everything involving Dain and The Shadows. “Cardan,” I say softly, but before I can say anything else, Eldred takes the stage. 

Everybody turns to him eagerly as he clears his throat. He stands with a podium center stage, and all of his children, except for Cardan, stand behind him with dignity. 

“I would like to thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate my wonderful years at Elfhame Enterprises,” he says with a distinguished tone. “I am so very proud of all the wonderful things we were able to accomplish together, and I’m looking forward to the retired life. Now, I would like to announce who I’ve accepted as my successor.” 

He turns and looks at his children behind him, adding to the silent suspense hanging over the room. “My successor is Dain Greenbriar.” 

The room erupts in grand applause as Dain grins from ear to ear and shakes his father’s hand. Dain begins to give an acceptance speech. I turn to a bored Cardan rolling his eyes, before turning back to look at his older brother, Balekin. I’m expecting anger, but all I see is a smug smile, like this is exactly what he planned on happening. Then, I look across the room to Madoc who looks exactly as pleased. 

Dain finishes his speech and Eldred invites all of his children to move into a side room where he will tell them what the successor list is. 

As the siblings move out of the ballroom, I make eye contact with The Bomb who motions her head for me to follow her into a hallway. I secretly follow her into a small room where The Shadows wait quietly. “We did it guys,” The Roach whispers victoriously. “Now we just need to learn the successor list, to know who to watch out for.” 

He leads us into a closet and up a ladder. Soon, we’re looking in on the Greenbriar family. They all congratulate Dain and position themselves around a desk that Eldred sits at. “Now,” Eldred says. “Before I tell you the order, you all must sign in agreement.” 

There’s a little disapproval, but the siblings sign the document and wait patiently for their father to tell them. “Alright,” Eldred begins and looks at the document before him. “Dain, of course, is first. Then Elowyn, Rhyia, Caelia, Cardan, and lastly, Balekin.” 

“What?” Balekin booms angrily when Eldred finishes. “How could I be last? Father, there must be a mistake.” 

“There was no mistake,” Dain replies with arrogance. “You’re the last in line because you’re the worst Greenbriar.” 

“Not worse than Cardan!” he turns to Cardan who is shrinking farther and farther back from them. “He’s lazy, disrespectful, and doesn’t care for business at all.” 

“Yeah, but at least he doesn’t beat his own family,” Dain says dryly. Balekin and Cardan both snap their heads in his direction. 

No, I think to myself. Everything is going to be ruined.

“What did you just say?” Balekin spits at Dain angrily. 

“You heard me.” 

Balekin charges across the room and hits Cardan across the face before grabbing onto his collar and pulling him against him. “You ungrateful piece of shit. How dare you tell anyone! You ruined my life.” 

Cardan’s eyes widen with fear as I try to keep tears from falling out of mine. This is all my fault. I should have never told Dain about Cardan. I was just being selfish. Now, I wish nothing more than to take Cardan’s place in Balekin’s grasp. “I didn’t tell anyone, Balekin,” Cardan manages to stammer out. “I promise.” 

“Why don’t I believe you?” Balekin growls. 

“That is enough, Balekin,” Eldred asserts. “Dain was the one who told me, not that it matters anyways. As long as I live, you will never have any say in Elfhame Enterprises. Now, you need to leave.” 

Balekin lets go of Cardan and marches out of the room. After he leaves, Eldred returns to the party with Rhyia and Caelia following him out. Leaving Cardan and Dain. “How did you know?” Cardan asks him with fire in his voice. 

Dain shrugs. “I have my ways. I’ve been suspicious for years, but I’ve just recently gotten confirmation,” he replies before leaving Cardan. 

I quickly stagger out of our hiding place and rush back to the ballroom where I see Cardan walk out of the room, rumpled. “Cardan,” I grab onto his arm. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, mostly to himself. “I’m not last in line for the company,” he chuckles to himself. 

“What? What happened?” 

He grabs my hand and leads me to the exit. “Let's just get out of here.” 

We exit the ballroom and make our way outside. We walk along a sidewalk next to the golf course and in the direction of where the valet said our car was. “Cardan,” I stop him and grab both of his hands. “You can talk to me.” 

“Balekin’s last in line because Eldred found out from Dain that Balekin has beat me. Needless to say, but Balekin was not happy when he found out.” 

“Are you okay?” I examine his face. “Did he hurt you?” 

“Nothing bad,” he replies. “What I really can’t figure out is how Dain knew at all.”

We take a few more silent steps. 

“You know,” Cardan begins. “A few years ago I thought that Dain had a secret spy organization. I found a note in his office about it. Something involving a ghost, roach, and bomb. I eventually gave up on that conspiracy, but now I’m not so sure. Dain said that he got confirmation from someone

“Of course, the only person who knew besides me and Balekin… was you,” he looks me in the eyes with complete trust and stops in front of his car. “I know that you would never keep something like that from me.” 

My heart shatters inside of me, but I try not to show my true feelings to him. “Cardan…” I begin, but my phone buzzes. I look at it to see a text from Dain congratulating The Shadows on tonight, and thank us for the information. Cardan sees it too. 

“What the hell is that?” he asks with anger rising in his voice. “Why is Dain thanking you for information?” 

“Cardan, this isn’t what it looks like.” 

“Really?” he sneers at me. “Because I think that it’s exactly what it looks like. You… you’re one of them. One of Dain’s minions. To do his bidding and be at his beck and call.” 

“I am not one of his minions,” I state. 

“Why else would he be thanking you for information, Jude?” he looks me in the eyes and searching for an explanation, for something to tell him that it isn’t true. “Please tell me that I’m wrong. Tell me that you’re not working for him.” 

“I never wanted you to find out this way.” 

“So, it’s true then. You’ve been feeding my older brother information about me for who knows how long,” he eyes turn dark. “Wait- what information did you tell him? Did you tell him about Balekin?” 

Tears stream down my face and I nod my head. 

“Jude,” he breathes out quietly. Betrayal covers his face as tears begin to stream down it slowly. “I have to get away from you. This… this show that you’ve been putting on is over. We’re over.” 

He begins to turn away, but I grab onto his wrist and force him to look at me. “Please, Cardan. It was never a show. I want to be with you. Stay, let me explain things. It was always real.” 

“I can’t trust a single thing out of your mouth,” he says, his face a brick wall. “You’ve been using me this entire time to help my brother. I expect this kind of thing from him, but not the person I-” he looks me straight in the eye, “I hate you.” 

My head spins, he’s said those three words to me hundreds of times in the past, but they’ve never hit me as hard as they do right now. He rips his hand out of my grasp and gets into his car. 

“Cardan, please, I didn’t have a choice.” 

“You always have a choice,” he says frigidly before driving away, and leaving me alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh! Hello people. It feels like forever! But I’ve finally finished the chapter I’ve been dreading. 
> 
> Anyways... I’m super sad now because of what I just wrote. :( They were so happy, but Dain had to ruin it all... big sad 
> 
> Alright then. Thanks for reading! It’ll probably get better. Thanks for the kudos and comments! 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	28. Chapter 28

I’m shell shocked after Cardan leaves me. I’m not sure if I should scream, chase after him, or cry. So, I stand still in the same spot watching Cardan’s tail lights disappear. 

I don’t know how long I stood there, but by the time Vivienne finds me, my face is soaked in silent tears. She doesn’t ask any questions; instead, she wraps her arms around me and sits me in the back of the car with her. 

Heather drives, and soon we’re at their apartment, and I’m about to lose it completely. However, I manage to keep myself together. Vivienne helps me out of my dress, and I take a long hot shower to finally relax. After I’m clean, Heather lends me some oversized pajamas. 

I crash on the couch where I’m engulfed in a restless sleep within minutes. Nightmares flash across my dreams all night: Valerian chasing me down, Dain telling me to spy on Cardan, Balekin beating Cardan while I do nothing, Cardan telling me he hates me over and over. 

The last one is the worst. 

Waking up later than normal, the sun is shining brightly through the apartment windows. I’m covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Trying to shake the dreadful feeling caused by my dreams, I sit up slowly on the couch. Remembering my phone, I look for it eagerly in the hopes Cardan called me to make up. Unfortunately, I have received nothing from Cardan, not even a text. 

I sink back into the couch and wish for sleep to take me away from my real nightmare. I close my eyes, but I cannot fall asleep. Especially when Vivienne and Heather wake up and go to the kitchen to make breakfast. “What do you think happened?” Heather asks in a hushed tone. 

“I don’t know, but something bad,” Vivienne replies.

“They didn’t break up, did they?” 

“I hope not, they need each other,” Viv sighs, and I hear the coffee machine turn on. “But, I’m led to believe that they did, and it wasn’t pretty.” 

Not wanting Heather and Viv to know that I overheard them, I decided to lay on the couch for another fifteen minutes. When I do get up, the coffee is ready and so is the eggs Heather fried. 

“Good morning,” I say meekly as I walk into the kitchen. 

“Good morning!” Heather replies with an upbeat tone. 

Vivenne crosses the kitchen with outstretched arms and pulls me into a hug. “How are you?” she asks timidly. 

I shrug my shoulders, still feeling sorry for myself from the events from last night. “Well, lets get some food in you,” Heather voices as Vivienne guides me to sit at their kitchen table.

The fried eggs fill me up, and the coffee is bracing. It’s just what I need to start to feel normal again. Heather and Vivienne begin to discuss their Thanksgiving plans, while I sit quietly and enjoy my breakfast. 

Once we finish eating, the three of us pile into the living room to watch TV and movies all day, only taking breaks when we’re hungry again. 

Moping is exhausting, so by the time dinner rolls around, nobody feels like cooking. “What do we want to eat?” Vivienne asks from her side of the couch. 

“Tacos,” Heather and I respond instantly. 

She pulls out her phone and in no time at all, we’re opening the door to a kind delivery person. After a generous tip, we all dig into our dinner and continue watching the trashy reality show that we’ve become emotionally attached to. 

Eventually, our show is replaced by something worse, so we decide to turn in for the night, at least Heather does. She leaves Vivienne and I alone in the living room as I surf through channels.

“Are we going to talk about what happened?” Vivienne asks. 

I shrug my shoulders and flip to a different channel. “Jude!” She snatches the remote out of my hand quickly, causing me to turn my attention to her fully. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Well, I can’t help you get through whatever you’re going through until you tell me what happened,” she takes my hands in hers. 

I look at anything in the room, but Vivienne's eyes. I fear that if I do, I’ll lose it all over again. “Well, to begin, Cardan and I broke up.” 

“A serious break up?” 

“Pretty serious. I’m not sure if he’ll ever forgive me.” 

Deciding that Vivienne is a trustworthy source, I break out into the entire story from being selected to join The Shadows to Cardan finding out last night and declaring his hate for me. Nothing is left out, and Vivi lets me explain the whole thing with only a few clarifying questions. 

We sit quietly together when I’m finally done pouring everything out of me. A sense of relief washes over me; I’m finally able to tell the truth about my life for the last few months, even if it was too late. 

After thinking it through, Vivienne finds the words to reply. “I can’t say that Cardan doesn’t have cause to be furious with you. You did keep a major part of your life from him, and told his greatest secret to someone he hates.” 

Letting out a groan, I begin to protest, but she stops me. 

“But, I don’t think it’s completely hopeless. I mean he told you he loved you less than 24 hours ago, that doesn’t just go away.”

I look in her eyes while a small sliver of hope bubbles inside of me. 

“However,” she says with warning. “You’re going to have to be completely honest with him. No secrets left out, no matter the consequences. Even if he does want to forgive you, it’s going to take some time for his open wound to heal.” 

Nodding my head, I begin to think through what I should do. Vivienne kisses the top of my head, and leaves me in the living room to my own devices. 

Wanting to test the waters without bad repercussions, I send a short text to Cardan: Are you okay? He drove away pretty fast last night, I just want to make sure he’s alive. 

For the next hour, I attempt to watch the show that I settled on with no avail. Instead, I check my phone every couple of minutes for new notifications. Sleep is pulling on me, but I still haven’t gotten a text back from Cardan, so I decide to try again: Cardan? Please text me when you see this. 

I stay up as long as I can, but soon I drift off into another night of restless sleep haunted by nightmares. Although, instead of Cardan yelling at me over and over again he morphs into a monster. My beautiful Cardan turns into a black, scaly, grotesque serpent. The serpent circles around and around me until I’m trapped and eventually, he devours me as I stare into his perfect eyes. 

The sun is rising when I finally wake up. I scroll through my phone, and attempt to not notice the lack of texts from Cardan. Eventually, I go against my better judgement and send him another text message. 

Sick of myself, I slide my phone across the room and pretend to go back to sleep. Like yesterday morning, Heather and Vivi go into the kitchen to fix breakfast for the three of us. 

“So, they definitely broke up?” Heather asks. 

“Oh for sure,” Vivienne replies. “I hope she’ll be able to fix it though.” 

“I just feel sorry for her,” a sentimental Heather adds quietly. 

“I’m not,” Vivienne says in an exasperated tone. “I’m not saying Cardan should have reacted the way that he did, but this was mostly her fault.”

“That’s not fair,” Heather voices in my opinion. “She was in a tough situation. Any choice she made would have been the wrong one.” 

Viv sighs as the coffee pot starts to brew. “I’m mostly just worried about her. She’s never moped about something for more than a couple hours, let alone a whole day. Jude usually starts fighting whatever she’s upset about as soon as it happens.”

The kitchen goes quietly and I mull over Vivienne’s words. She’s completely right. I never let something hold me down for long, especially as something as stupid as a boy. What have I been doing? 

With a new found spirit, I jump off the couch and go into the kitchen. “Do you have any workout clothes I could borrow?” I ask the two of them after exchanging good mornings. 

“Of course, why?” Viv responds. 

“I’m going on a run to get off the couch and clear my head.” 

She seems impressed when I finally leave her apartment and start running down the street. Running helps me take my mind off of everything, even though I don’t go very far. Just enough to stretch my legs and get my blood pumping again. 

After returning back to Vivienne’s apartment for a shower, I decide to text Cardan a final time. He doesn’t respond, but I never expected him to either. 

The three of us eat some sandwiches for lunch and play some of Heather’s video games before I decide that I need to get off the couch again. “Take my car,” Viv tells me as I grab my phone and wallet. 

“And go where?” 

“Anywhere, just go for a drive,” she replies after giving me her keys. 

Going for a dive turns out to be the perfect therapy. It’s been awhile since I’ve driven alone. I find my favorite radio station, and turn it up so loud that I can’t help but scream out all the lyrics to the song. 

While driving, I don’t pay attention to where I’m at or where I’m going, until I”m driving by Greenbriar Academy. Something takes ahold of me, and I park in the almost empty parking lot and stare at Cardan’s dorm in front of me. 

Regretting every step I take, I slowly walk to the dormitory, through the front door, and into the hallway leading to Cardan’s room. In less time than I want, I’m knocking on the all too familiar door. 

I tell myself while I’m waiting for an answer that I’m ready to see Cardan, but when the door opens I feel like crumbling. His gorgeous eyes look at me with quick recognition turned to disgust. “What do you want?” he spits at me. 

“To talk,” I say while pushing all my emotions aside.

He opens the door wide and motions for me to come into the room. Clothes are strewn all over the room along with empty liquor bottles, and they lead my eyes to the bed where I find a couple of people lounging. “A new person to play with us, Cardan?” one of them asks when I walk into the room. 

My face turns red, so I turn to the other side of the room and try not to think of how fast Cardan bounced back. “Get out of here,” Cardan says with annoyance. 

I hear them mumbles something as they shuffle out of bed and into their clothes. Once they leave, I turn to Cardan with a raised eyebrow, expecting some sort of explanation, but he doesn't offer one. 

Cardan takes off his robe and puts on a pair of pants as I sit down on the couch. “So, what did you want to talk about?” Cardan asks while sitting on the couch opposite to mine. 

“Cardan…” I draw out. “You know what I want to talk about.” 

“Ah,” he sighs while reaching out for a half empty bottle of wine on the coffee table. “Your complete and utter betrayal.” 

“You don’t need to be so dramatic,” I respond with ice in my tone. “You could at least let me explain.” 

“I suppose I could,” he says while taking a swig from his bottle. “Or I could tell you to stop texting me every five minutes. It’s quite annoying.” 

“Well, maybe I would’ve stopped if you had responded.” 

“I thought I made it very clear that I didn’t want to talk to you on Saturday night.” 

“Yeah, but that’s no excuse,” I say while trying to keep from sounding angry. “I just wanted to make sure that you were still alive. For all I knew, you got in a car crash and died.” 

He raises his hands in a flourish and presents himself, “here I am, alive and well.” 

“Here you are.” 

We stare at each other in complete silence for a moment. Neither of us are quite sure how to move forward with each other. 

“Anyways,” I say breaking the silence. “We need to talk about what happened on Saturday night.” 

“What’s there to talk about?” Cardan rises from his seat and starts to walk to his mini bar for a fresh bottle of wine. “You’ve been feeding Dain information about me all year. I found out and became quite angry. Now, we’re broken up. All good?” 

“No,” I sigh in exasperation. “Not ‘all good.’ We have to discuss how we’re going to move on from this. Let me explain to you why I did what I did without telling you.” 

“There’s really no reasoning that would make it okay in my head. At least not right now. I simply can’t be with you right now.” 

“Cardan, please,” I urge while I watch him pour a glass of wine and shrug his shoulders. 

Feeling everything start to slip through my fingers, I stand from the couch and walk over to him. I grab onto his face and force him to look at me. “I don’t want things to end between us.” 

“Tell me you love me,” he whispers. 

“What?” 

“Tell me you love me, and I’m yours forever.” 

I’m completely taken aback. His declaration of love to me on Saturday night was the most wonderful thing anyone could ever say to me; however, there was something stopping me from saying it back to him. I try to articulate the words, but nothing comes out. I care about Cardan more than anyone else, but I don’t know if I love him. 

“You can’t tell me can you?” he whispers again while exploring my face with his eyes. 

I shake my head, and he takes a step back from me. 

“Then that’s all we have to talk about.”

My heart shatters into a million unfixable pieces. 

Cardan leads me to the doorway, and the knot in my stomach doesn’t feel any better than when I walked into his room. Before exiting, I turn to face him. “I thought we promised not to break each other’s hearts,” I tell him while thinking back to our homecoming dance. 

“I thought we promised each other too.” 

Knowing that I won’t be able to fix this, I reach around my neck and take off my silver crown necklace he gave to me and put in in his hand. Then I slide the ruby ring he stole and then returned to me off of my left hand. I stare at it for a minute before placing it in his other hand. 

“Jude,” he says quietly while looking at the ring. “This is yours.” 

“No,” I say while walking out of the room. “It hasn’t been for quite a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty then. This chapter was kind of short and not a lot happened, but I hope you liked it. 
> 
> I think there’s going to be two more chapters. And maybe a part two to my story because it’s getting kind of long, but it’ll mostly depend on how I end it, I’m not sure yet. 
> 
> Anyways... thanks for the comments and kudos. Much love to all. 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	29. Chapter 29

I feel surprisingly okay after I leave Cardan alone in his dorm room. Sure, my heart has been smashed like glass, but it wouldn’t be the first time, and it probably won’t be the last. I just have to put the pieces back together. It won’t take too long. 

Besides, there’s really nothing left to be said between us. We both said our peace, now we must deal with it. 

Before going back to Vivienne’s, I grab a few things from my dorm room that will last me the rest of fall break. A lot of my favorite clothes are still hanging in Cardan’s closet, but I decide that I’ll be able to get through a few days with some of my older shirts and pants.

After packing up my stuff, I drive back to Vivienne’s apartment where her and Heather open the door with prying eyes. “I saw Cardan,” I tell them after setting my stuff down. 

“I’m guessing that it didn’t go great,” Viv says while glancing at the bag on the floor. 

“It actually went okay,” I reply, keeping my voice strong and steady. “I feel fine.” 

“Okay,” she looks me up and down with a semi-encouraging smile before turning back to go to the kitchen. 

“You can talk to us,” Heather tells me warmly and gives me a tight hug. “It’s okay to be not okay.” 

“Really,” I reply with more enthusiasm in my voice. “There’s no need to dwell on the past,” I say mostly to myself. “It’ll take some time to get over it, but I’m already feeling better.” 

\-----

Thanksgiving rolls around soon enough, and even though none of us particularly like the holiday, Heather, Vivienne, and I decide that we should at least make an appearance at Madoc’s house for dinner. Heather’s family lives a couple states away, and we thought it would be nice to be with someone’s family. 

Although we aren’t excited about it, we enter Madoc's Stronghold an hour before dinner is supposed to be served. My worry somewhat vanishes, however, when Oak springs himself into my arms for a hug. “You didn’t say goodbye after the fancy party,” he pouts to me. 

“Well, I’m saying hello now,” I tell him happily while pinching his cheek. I try not to think about Saturday night and all the strings attached to Oak, but I’m flung into a cloud of worry as soon as Oak mentions the ‘fancy party.’ 

I was hoping to keep today business free, but I decide that I need to find out more about Oaks origins to find the best way to protect him. Madoc no doubt has a plan to use his Greenbriar blood to push Oak to the head of the company; which means Madoc would take Elfhame Enterprises. 

Oak pulls me into the living room once I set him down and dives into a story about playing soccer at recess. I listen intently to the innocent story that only cements the fact that Oak needs to have a childhood as long as he can, and away from the Greenbriar family drama. 

The doorbell rings, and Oak rushes me to open it for him. I’m greeted by Taryn and The Ghost. “Hey,” I say awkwardly. 

“Hey,” Taryn replies with a warm smile and a hug. “I’m so glad that you could make it.” 

“I’m glad to be here,” I reply while pulling back from her and matching her smile. Taryn and I haven’t worked out everything, but I think we made a silent agreement to forget all our problems we faced the last few months. It seems like it will be an easy transition now that Locke is out of her life. 

“Where’s your boyfriend?” she asks while looking around for Cardan. 

“Yeah,” I drag out. “There is no boyfriend anymore.” 

Her eyes fill with surprise and a touch of pity. “Oh, I’m sorry. You two were perfect for each other. Do you want to talk about it?” 

“That’s the last thing I want to do. Trust me, I’m perfectly fine,” I reply with a strong voice. The last thing that I want to do today is explain to my family why my seemingly perfect relationship has ended. 

Bored with the conversation, Oak decides to take matters into his own hands by dragging Taryn into the living room while telling the same story he told me. Once they leave, it’s just me and The Ghost standing in Madoc’s large foyer. 

“Why have you gone MIA with The Shadows?” The Ghost scolds when we’re alone. “We’ve been making a lot of plans now that Dain is in power.” 

“Maybe dealing with The Shadows and helping Dain keep his precious company is the last thing that I want to do right now,” I say coldly. 

“Does this have to do with breaking up with Cardan?” he asks. “Cause that seems like something you should’ve told us, like immediately.” 

“It has everything to do with Cardan,” I sigh in exasperation while The Ghost waits for me to continue. “He found out about everything.” 

“What?” The Ghost exclaims with alarm in his voice. “What the hell, Jude? You didn’t think to tell us that someone knows about our secret organization?” 

“I’m telling you now,” I spit out with anger. “And did you really think he wouldn’t have figured out how Dain knew about his abuse? I was the only other person who knew besides him and Balekin. It was only a matter of time. I’m honestly glad that he knows now. Keeping all of these secrets from him has been tearing me apart.” 

He looks at me patiently, trying to figure out what The Shadows next move will be. “Well, I’ll let The Roach and The Bomb know. We’ll probably have to talk about this on Monday to figure our plan.” 

I nod my head and the two of us leave the foyer and enter the living room where the rest of my family awaits us. 

Dinner goes by without any altercation other than the embarrassment of Madoc asking me about Cardan and having to explain under his judgemental gaze that we broke up. Afterwards, I’m the only one who offers to help Oriana clean up in the kitchen, which is perfectly fine with me. 

While cleaning, I casually coax Oriana into gushing about Oak. “I’ve never heard about Oak’s pregnancy or birth before,” I tell Oriana, hoping my tone still seems passive and mildly interested. “Was it easy? Or was he a lot of trouble?” 

Concern flashes across her face briefly when I ask her. “Oh you know,” she says nonchalantly. “He’s always been a troublemaker. Madoc and I were definitely surprised when we found out that we were expecting.” 

“I bet it was quite a shock, it happened so quickly,” I say while keeping my tone level. “Getting Oak and raising him as your own.” 

“He is my own,” she replies with a slight unease in her voice. 

“Really? Cause I was under the impression that he was a Greenbriar.” 

She narrows her eyes at me and glances into the living room to make sure nobody is listening. “How did you find out about that?” 

“It was quite difficult actually, you and Liriope covered your tracks very carefully, but I managed to piece it together,” her face turns pale as I tell her. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning to, and haven’t told anyone about it.” 

“Good,” she says with a slight nod. “I just want him to be safe.”

“Me too, which is why I’m talking to you about this,” I reply evenly. “What is Madoc planning on doing with him? We both know his desire to control the Greenbriar financial holdings.”

“I don’t know,” she whispers quietly to me. “It’s something big though. He’s been meeting with Balekin about it, and he’s been very secretive about the entire thing.” 

I nod my head, believing that she doesn’t know Madoc’s plans for Oak. We continue cleaning in silence until Vivienne comes to get me to go back to her place. “I promise that I will do whatever it takes to keep Oak safe,” I whisper to Oriana before I leave. 

“Thank you,” she replies with relief. 

\-----

Monday morning is a drag. Taryn and I walk to Elfhame Hall together just like we used to do. The Ghost is already in his seat when I get to my first hour, and we exchange a few words before watching a clearly hungover Cardan stumble to his seat. He doesn’t so much as glance at me, so I don’t bother trying to get his attention. 

It’s worse in English because Mrs. Shannon has us working on our semester project, so Cardan and I are forced to interact. “We need to get this stupid project over with,” Cardan says towards the end of class. “I’m sick of working on it.” 

We’re a little over halfway done with the project and could get it done if we actually put in the effort to do it. “I agree,” I tell him.

“Let’s just get it over with tonight,” he mumbles and rubs his eyelid. “Come over after school and we’ll finish it.” 

“Okay,” I reply casually. “I need to get my stuff out of your room anyways.” 

He nods his head and the bell rings to separate us. I walk to fourth hour slowly, wanting to delay the prying questions The Shadows are going to ask me about my breakup. Nevertheless, I arrive at our secret basement classroom where The Roach immediately addresses me. “Were you planning on letting us know about you and Cardan?” he asks angrily. 

“I’m sorry that I didn’t want to talk to the people who caused it,” I spit back. “And I already talked to The Ghost about it, so let's not relive it.”

“Well, it’s important information considering we’re trying to figure out who we all need to watch to keep Dain head of the company as long as possible,” he tells me. 

“Okay, well what do you want me to do now? I can’t make Cardan forget everything he found out, no matter how much I wish I could,” I say. 

“What does he know about us?” The Bomb asks in a soothing voice. 

I let out a sigh and break out into an explanation that Cardan found a letter about Dain’s organization a few years back. I tell them that he doesn’t know the extent of The Shadow’s reach or who’s in it, but he’s probably pieced it together by now. 

“Have you talked to Cardan about any of this since Saturday night?” The Ghost asks when I finish. 

“I talked to him about a week ago, but he wouldn’t listen to me with anything involving Dain,” I reply. “I’m seeing him tonight, but only to work on a school project.” 

“Great,” The Roach replies with enthusiasm. “We’ll come over too and talk to him about what he knows.” 

“Like hell you will,” I exclaim in anger. “I’m not going to have you meddling in any of this and making it worse.” 

“Jude,” The Ghost says in a quiet soothing voice. “We have to make sure our secret is secure.” 

I sigh and think it through. “The three of you will only make matters worse,” I say after a minute. “Let me get his confirmation that he won’t say anything.” 

“Tell us as soon as you talk everything through with him,” The Roach says. “We need to know about everything that could cause Dain harm.” 

“Why are you even worried about Dain anymore?” I ask. “He’s not the headmaster anymore, and he’s already got the company. I think he’s fine.”

“The Shadows are not a school organization,” The Roach explains with little patience. “Dain created us to help him in any way. Just because he’s in the head seat, doesn’t mean that people still aren’t trying to take it from him. 

“We all know about the successor list. Balekin wants it the most. Luckily, Cardan has to sign off on him getting the company, but we all know that he would never do that. We don’t know, however, what the other siblings are planning. So, we have to do all we can to make sure Dain, and his kin, are aware of any threats coming their way.” 

“And his kin?” I ask with concern. 

“Yes,” The Ghost replies. “Technically, if Dain were to have any children, they would be first in line for the throne-”

“But he doesn’t,” The Roach finishes.” 

“But he doesn’t,” I echo back. Oak flashes through my mind along with Madoc’s malicious smile the night of the retirement party. He seemed very confident even though his favorite sibling wasn’t chosen. Before I can consider it further, The Roach dives into telling us about the new headmaster until the bell rings. 

The rest of the day goes by without any hiccups. Before I know it, I’m walking to Cardan’s dorm room like any other day after picking us up some coffees from the campus cafe. He opens the door when I knock and takes his coffee without a word. “So,” I ask while setting my backpack down on the couch, “would you rather me pack first or do you want to work first?” 

“Let’s begin working, and you can pack when I’m in need of a break,” he replies while sitting down on the couch opposite to me. 

We begin to work on the project without any more small talk. I learn that we work well together when the other isn’t trying to distract the other. After working for an hour, Cardan decides that he needs some wine and cheese. So, I get some free time to pack up some of my clothes. 

“Would you mind if I changed into something more comfortable?” I call out to Cardan, already putting on my favorite pair of leggings and shirt combo. 

“Why would I care?” Cardan asks. 

“I’m not sure,” I reply while exiting the closet with a bag full of clothes. 

He examines me closely and sweeps his eyes over my outfit a couple times. “What?” I ask while looking down at my clothes. “Do I have a stain or something?” 

“No,” he says with a pinched expression. “It’s just that you’re wearing my shirt.” 

Heat rushes to my face and my eyes go wide in surprise. I look down again, and sure enough, I’m wearing one of Cardan’s long band tees. “Oh my gosh,” I say apologetically. “I didn’t even realize when I put it on. I’ll take it off.” 

“Don’t bother,” he tells me with sentimental eyes. “It looks better on you anyways.” 

We stare at each other for a moment until we’re interrupted by someone knocking on the door. “Will you get that?” Cardan asks while moving to the bar to pour himself another glass of wine. 

I open the door to find The Shadows staring back at me. “What the hell guys?” I exclaim. “Why are you guys here?” 

“To talk to Cardan,” The Roach states. “Don’t you remember?”

“Who is it?” Cardan asks from across the room. 

“No one,” I tell him before turning back to the unwelcome guests. “I remember telling you not to come and it was a terrible idea.” 

“I told you she would be mad,” The Bomb mumbles quietly. 

“You also said that you would tell us when you talked to Cardan about the whole Dain thing, and we haven’t gotten any information,” The Roach says to me. “So, we decided to come and do it ourselves.” 

“I haven’t talked to him about that yet! We’re just working on a school project. I didn’t think I needed to bring up a sensitive subject when we’re trying to finish something important.” 

“Just give us five minutes,” The Ghost calmly suggests. 

“No,” I state. “Get out of here, I don’t need you making my situation worse.” 

The three of them don’t make a move to leave, and I don't make a move to let them in. We look at each other for a moment before Cardan breaks our stare down. “Just let them in, Jude dear,” he calls out. 

I turn to him with surprise and see him rolling his eyes. “I have ears you know, and you weren’t exactly whispering,” he answers. 

“Good enough for me,” The Roach asserts, and lets himself into the dorm room. 

Letting out a sigh, I walk to the bar to pour myself a glass of wine. “So,” I hear Cardan say. “What can I do for the three of you? I assume it has to do with the secret spy group you’re all a part of.” 

“You would assume correctly,” The Ghost replies diplomatically. “Currently, Dain doesn’t know that you know about us, and we would like to keep it that way.” 

“Alright,” Cardan says while nodding his head. “How can I help with that?” 

“First,” The Bomb voices. “We need to know what you know about us.” 

“Just that you’re Dain’s spy organization,” Cardan lazily says while taking a sip of his wine. He looks across the room at me where I’m still standing by the bar. “And you used my secrets to make Dain’s life easier.” 

The three of them nod along to the information that they already knew. “Now, you understand the predicament we’re in,” The Roach says and Cardan nods his head. “We’ve never had an outsider put the pieces of the puzzle together, so we need to make sure you won’t tell anyone about us- The Shadows. You’ll do that, won’t you?” 

Cardan simply shrugs his shoulders and sloshes his wine in his glass. “Is that a yes?” The Ghost inquires. 

“I don’t know yet.” 

“You don’t know?” The Roach accuses. 

“Well, I haven’t decided if I’m going to tell anyone. I’m considering the pros and cons of both,” he shrugs again. 

“Are you serious?” anger rises in The Roach’s voice and The Bomb places a hand on his shoulder. “You’re considering the pros and cons of ruining our lives.” 

“Yep,” Cardan smirks at him. “Honestly, I think it’s only fair to use this against Dain considering he used you guys against me.” 

The Roach jumps out of his seat in anger after Cardan finishes. “Dammit!” he yells and turns to me. “I told Dain not to let someone new in! I knew they would screw this up for us. This is your fault, Jude.”

“My fault? I told you that I was going to tell Cardan after I was admitted into The Shadows!” I exclaim in surprise. “Everything would be fine right now if you hadn't run off and told Dain who threatened me into keeping my mouth shut!”

I look at Cardan, and his eyes seem a little softer than they did a minute ago. The Roach opens his mouth to respond, but he’s cut off by Cardan. “I won’t tell anyone.” 

The four of us look at him. “I won’t tell anyone,” he states again. “If just talking about telling other people gets you this fired up, you guys must really care about this group. I promise that I’ll keep my mouth shut.” 

The Shadows nod their heads respectfully and exit the dorm room without another word. As soon as they’re gone, I let out a sigh of relief and swallow down the rest of my wine. “Jude,” Cardan says softly as I continue packing. “Are you al-”

“Let’s not, Cardan,” I say while putting the things off of my old nightstand into my backpack. 

Once I’m done getting all of my stuff, we continue working diligently on our English project. Before we know it, we’re done and Cardan offers me another glass of wine. I know that I should decline his invitation, but I find myself saying yes. 

I finish putting my books aways as Cardan takes a seat next to me. We each sip on our wine without saying anything, and I feel a light buzz coat over me. “This is boring,” Cardan announces. “Let’s play questions.” 

“Okay,” I reply swiftly without much thought. “Do you think we’ll get an A on our project?” 

“Of course, you had me as your partner. Did you enjoy Thanksgiving?”

“Surprisingly yes. Did you enjoy Thanksgiving?” 

“I don’t remember. I was drunk, so I assume yes. Who did you stay with over the break?” 

“Vivienne and Heather. Are you glad that I’m getting my junk out of your dorm?” 

“No,” his voice softens and he looks me in the eye. “Were you really going to tell me about the spy thing, but Dain stopped you?”

“Yes. How many times did you watch The Princess Bride over break?” I ask in hopes of a change in conversation. 

“I tried everyday, but I always had to stop because it makes me think of you. How did Dain threaten you?” 

“He threatened to expel me and ruin my chances at making it into Columbia, which seems completely selfish now considering everything that has happened.” 

“Jude, it wasn’t selfish. I know what Col-”

“No, no,” I scold him gently. “I didn’t ask you a question. Play the game fairly.” 

He smiles at me and slightly inches closer. “Ask away.” 

“Will you ever trust me again?”

Hesitation crosses over his eyes before answering. “Yes, but it will take time and information that you don’t pass on to your other spies,” he looks down at my lips and back up to my eyes. “Will you let me kiss you?” 

Blaming it on the wine and yearning I’ve felt for him I reply, “one last time.” 

His lips crash into mine as soon as the words leave my mouth. Tingles shoot throughout my body and I’m thrown back in time to our first kiss when I didn’t know the effect Cardan has on me. He hungrily pulls me against him as my hands tangle into his hair. I melt into him and forget all the reasons why we shouldn’t be kissing each other.

No matter how much I wish we could kiss each other, however, I know that we have other problems that have to be worked through before we can continue. I reluctantly pull away from him, and he does the same. “We can’t, Cardan.” 

“I know.”

“We’ll just have to be friends.” 

“That didn’t work out well the last time.” 

I let out a sigh and remember the last time I tried to convince Cardan that we shouldn’t be together. “Alright, then we’ll just be classmates.” 

“Are you sure?” 

I nod my head and stand up. “It’s for the best.” 

Grabbing my bags, I make my way to the secret tunnel in Cardan’s wardrobe. It’s after dark, and I know he doesn’t like me walking home alone. Before I exit his room, I turn around and look at him. “There is something you should know.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“You can’t tell anyone,” I say in a serious tone with hope that this will help him begin to trust me again. “The Shadows don’t know, and I need to keep it that way.” 

He nods his head and looks at me curiously. 

“You’re an uncle,” I blurt out. 

“What?” he says blankly. 

“Oak is Dain’s child. He had him with Liriope.”

“Locke’s mom?” Cardan questions skeptically. 

“Yes,” I explain. “Dain didn’t want Liriope to keep the child, so she gave him to Oriana to raise as her own.”

Cardan nods his head, and I can tell that he’s trying to process the outburst of information I’m giving him. “Thank you for telling me,” is all he says. 

“I just thought that you should know,” is all I say before leaving him in his room. 

\-----

The next few weeks go by slowly. Most of my time is spent in my dorm room or third wheeling with Taryn and The Ghost. Winter has spread over the campus, leaving all of the beautiful fall days behind. 

Cardan and I kept to our decision. We have been nothing more than classmates- only see each other when necessary for school. Although we enjoy our small time together, Cardan still doesn’t trust me, and I don’t think he should. 

I haven’t found out anything new involving Oak and Madoc’s plan with him, but I know he’s been meeting with Balekin more and more because I was assigned to watch over him for The Shadows. 

Time drags on, but not too leisurely because before I know it, I’m chilling in my dorm room the night before winter break. I’m watching Stranger Things and eating popcorn when I get a call from Vivienne. “What’s up?” I ask her when I answer the phone. 

“You haven’t heard, have you?” her voice sounds frantic. 

“Haven’t heard what?” I ask with concern. 

“Turn on the news right now.” 

I follow her directions and flip off of Netflix to the free news channel the school provides. In bold headlines it reads: Greenbriar Family Pronounced Dead in Car Crash. 

“Vivi?” I ask reluctantly. “Is this real?” 

“Yes,” she replies quietly.

Panic crashes into me as I try to focus on the newscaster explaining what happened. All I can think about is Cardan, and praying that he’s alright. Tears stream down my face, and my breathing speeds up until I hear the newscaster say: “We are just getting news that two Greenbriars were not in the car on the way to the airport: Balekin, the oldest and Cardan, the youngest.” 

All my thoughts freeze, and I hang up the phone on a questioning Vivienne. I have to find Cardan as soon as I can. He can’t be alone, he shouldn’t be alone. 

With Cardan’s name the only thing racing through my mind, I put on a jacket and pair of shoes ready to go find him. I open my door quickly and become face to face with a tear streaked, broken Cardan. 

Before I can say anything, his arms wrap around me and he digs his head into my neck. Not knowing what else to do, I circle my arms around him and hold on as tight as I can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty then. Sorry for the end there, but it had to happen. But I’m not sorry for the 4,000+ words I just dropped! Hope y’all enjoyed it! 
> 
> Okay so I’m thinking probably one more chapter, but more ideas are coming to me so idk if I’m gonna stick with that. Let me know how I should proceed. Either a part 2 or just keep it going on this one- I’m currently leaning towards part 2 cause I’d like having a complete story out there. 
> 
> Anyways... I hope you guys liked this chapter as much as I did. Just some more teenage angst. Thanks always for the comments and kudos! 
> 
> Stay safe <3


	30. Chapter 30

Cardan’s fingers dig into my back, and I can feel his ragged breath against my neck. He trembles slightly as his grip tightens on me. We hold one another, tethering each other to the ground. 

Eventually, I coax Cardan out of my doorway, and we lay down in my bed. He wraps his arms around me and closes his eyes. “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper to him. “It’s going to be okay.” 

Holding onto Cardan, I trace circles on the back of his neck as his breath slows down and he falls asleep. I try to sleep as well, but my mind refuses to stop moving, no matter how much I wish to be away from the world for a few hours. My phone buzzes next to me with another text from The Roach telling me to come to our classroom.

Instead of responding, I watch Cardan sleep. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen him look so peaceful. All of the anguish is gone from his face, and an overwhelming sense of comfort settles over me. I didn’t realize how much I missed being with him the last few weeks. 

I don’t know how much time has passed since Cardan came over, but before I know it he shifts towards me and his eyes flutter a little bit. I run my hand along his cheek softly. His eyes open and a warm smile appears on his face. “Jude,” he mumbles sleepily. 

“How are you feeling?” I ask while looking into his black eyes with concern. 

“I feel perfectly fine.” 

“Cardan,” I soothe. “It’s okay to not be okay. They were your family.” 

“Really, I’m okay. It’s not like anything is going to change without them being here…” he runs a hand through his hair. “I know that I should be feeling something, but I can’t help but remember everything they did to me. They didn’t care about me, so there’s nothing in me to… you know… care about them.” 

He leans his head back and shakes his head. “Ugh,” he groans. “I sound like a monster.” 

“No you don’t,” I reply. “Your feelings are valid and completely understandable.” 

“Are they saying what caused the wreck?” he asks timidly. 

“I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything new, but let's not talk about that. I’m just glad that you’re okay,” I say softly and prop myself up so I’m looking down at him. “When I heard the news… I thought you were in the car. I thought I had lost you.” 

“Jude,” he gently places his hand on my cheek. 

His eyes meet mine, and I lean into him slowly. Our lips touch each other delicately before breaking from one another again. “I missed you,” Cardan tells me. 

“I missed you too,” I reply while gingerly kissing him again. 

He moves his hands to the back of my neck and pulls me closer to him. Everything feels right when our lips detach from each other. I lay my head against his chest and listen to him breathing. 

Cardan runs a hand through my hair and we lay with each other in silence until my phone rings. I grab it from my nightstand and see that The Ghost is calling me. “Hello?” I answer. 

“Jude, where are you?” He sounds frantic. 

I sit up and put my feet over the side of my bed. “In my dorm room.” 

“Okay good,” he sighs in relief. “You weren’t responding, and we have no idea what’s going on.” 

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” I tell him. “I’ll head in your direction.” 

“Alright. Have you heard anything from Cardan? Everybody is looking for him.” 

“Yes,” I reply while glancing at him. “He’s perfectly safe.” 

“Good, I’ll see you in a bit,” The Ghost says before hanging up. 

“C’mon,” I grab onto Cardan’s hand and begin to drag him out of my bed. 

He groans in complaint, but follows me to the door anyways. “Where are we going?” he asks as we reach the staircase.

I lead him down the stairs and to the basement of the building. “Ummm, hello?” he taps me on the shoulder. “Did you hear me?” 

“Yes, but I don’t feel like explaining it to you,” I tell him while entering one of the underground tunnels. 

We walk in the darkness not needing our phone flashlights. I’ve taken this path enough times that I’ve memorized all the twists and turns to get us to The Shadow’s headquarters. Cardan holds onto my hand tightly and stands very close to me. 

As we get closer to our destination, voices of The Shadows become louder and louder until we can clearly make out what they’re saying. “She should be here by now,” The Roach grumbles. 

“Don’t worry,” The Bomb soothes. “She’s probably fine.” 

“Call her again,” The Roach says. 

“That won’t be necessary,” I call out and exit the tunnel and into our small classroom. “She has arrived.” 

“It’s about time. We-” The Roach cuts off as soon as he sees Cardan follow me into the room. “What is he doing here?” 

“Why does it matter?” I inquire. 

He narrows his eyes. “This is supposed to be a safe place away from outside ears. We need to plan out what we’re going to do.” 

“Dain is dead, so what is there to plan out?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. 

“Exactly,” The Ghost butts in with a calm tone. “Dain is dead, so we have to figure out what we’re going to do to protect his legacy.” 

“Legacy?” I scoff. “He was a complete asshole who controlled our lives.” 

The Ghost nods his head. “You’re right, but do you really want the last few months of work to result in nothing, and it will if we don’t do something. I think we all know who is behind this, and none of us want him taking control.” 

“Alright,” I nod my head and take a seat. “We need to figure out exactly what our next steps should be to prevent that from happening.” 

Cardan sits down next to me and speaks for the first time. “Obviously Balekin doesn’t want the company that bad,” he shrugs his shoulders. “I mean, I’m still breathing and technically the next in line to assume the position.” 

“On the contrary,” The Bomb adds. “You were the only one that could pass control over to him, so he needed you to stay alive.” 

Cardan chuckles to himself. “Of course, I’m only alive because he needs me for something, and he knows that I’ve always wanted to be far away from the company.” 

I’m about to tell him that it’ll all be okay, but my phone begins to ring. I answer it and find Madoc on the other side. “Jude, where are you?” 

“Hello to you too,” I roll my eyes and stand up to move out of the room. 

“Where are you?” he asks again. 

“On campus,” I tell him while leaning up against a wall in the hallway. “Why?” 

“Is Cardan with you?” 

“No,” I say, and I’m technically not lying because he’s not with me right now. “Again, why?” 

He hesitates before speaking again. “If you happen to see him within the next day or two tell him that I would like to meet with him.” 

“Okay,” I draw out. “Is that all?” 

“Yes, goodbye,” he says before hanging up. 

Shaking my head in annoyance, I walk back into the classroom and into a conversation about whether or not Balekin set up the car crash. “I’m telling you,” Cardan says, clearly annoyed. “Balekin would do anything to have power.” 

“Even kill his own family?” The Bomb inquires, skeptical. 

Cardan’s eyes turn dark. “Trust me, Balekin has no emotional connection to his family. There isn’t a sympathetic bone in his family.” 

“Okay,” The Ghost adds. “But there’s no way that he could have pulled this off all on his own. He had to have help.” 

I sit back down next to Cardan, and he puts his arm around my shoulder. “Okay, but who would’ve helped him do something like this?” 

They all shrug their shoulders. “Who was that on the phone?” The Ghost asks me. 

“My dear old dad,” I turn to Cardan. “He wants to see you.” 

“Me? What for?” his eyebrows rise with surprise. 

“Hell if I know. He wasn’t in the mood for explanations.” 

“You know what?” The Roach says with newfound enthusiasm. “Balekin and Madoc have been having several meetings over the last few weeks.” 

Our eyes widen, and we nod our heads in understanding. “Do you think this is something he could do?” The Ghost asks me. 

“Oh definitely,” I say without hesitation. “Madoc has so many resources available to him, and people that will do whatever he tells them to do.” 

“But what is his motive?” The Roach asks no one in particular. “He has to know that Dain would’ve been better than Balekin.” 

“I completely agree,” The Bomb chimes in. “The only thing that makes sense is to use Jude’s relationship with Cardan to gain more power. But he still has to know that Cardan despises him, and Balekin is much too selfish to give him any claim to the company. Unless there’s another Greenbriar, which we know there isn’t, the two still alive won’t help him.” 

Cardan and I glance at each other with uneasy understanding. “What if I told you that there was another Greenbriar running around,” I say casually. “That happened to be very close to Madoc.” 

“What?” The Ghost asks while all three turn to me with concern. “Who is it?” 

“Oak,” I tell him. 

“Oak, as in your little brother?” He seems skeptical. “How is it possible that he is a Greenbriar?” 

I hesitate a moment, knowing that what I’m about to say will make them all very angry. “He’s Dain’s son.” 

“Excuse me?” The Roach says with a slight chuckle instead of the expected anger. “You have to be joking. We would know if Dain had a son.” 

The Bomb nods her head along with The Roach, but The Ghost’s face turns very pale. “She’s not joking,” he says with a voice barely audible. 

We all turn to him with interest. “A few years back,” The Ghost takes a deep breath before finishing his explanation. “Dain tasked me to sweep the entire web and get rid of anything involving him and a girl named Liriope.”

“Locke’s mom,” Cardan says next to me. 

“Yes, Locke’s mom,” he continues. “I didn’t think anything of it at first; it was one of my first missions, I wanted to do a good job. I just thought that he didn’t want his kids to be out on display for everyone. I didn’t understand that he never intended on anyone finding out about the child until he had me pass a note and a lot of cash onto a sketchy mechanic. The note had instructions to dismantle the breaks on a car.” 

“Liriope,” I add. “She died in a car crash. Locke told me something about the breaks…” 

The Ghost nods his head solemnly and turns his eyes to the floor before meeting mine again. “How did you find out? I was very thorough when getting rid of the evidence.” 

“Well, I didn’t know about Dain’s involvement in the car crash, but I managed to piece it together with this, and help from Oriana.” I show them the gossip article I found a while back, the note from Locke’s house, and explain Oriana’s first hand account of the situation. 

“Fuck,” The Roach states when The Ghost and I are finished. “Madoc will be able to assume the entire Greenbriar fortune if Oak gets control of the company.” 

“More like when Oak gets control,” I grumble. “Madoc is very good at getting his way, and I’m betting Balekin doesn’t even know about Oak, so he can’t even prepare a counter attack.” 

We sit for a minute and think through our options. “We’re the only ones that can stop both of them from taking the throne,” The Bomb breaks the silence. “We’re the only ones, besides Madoc, that know about all three heirs, and the best option.” 

Our heads all turn to Cardan who has crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. He chuckles slowly and opens his eyes to glance at all of us. “I’m not taking the company. I don’t care who has it, as long as it’s not me. I’ll pass it off to whoever.” 

The four of us sigh at his answer even though we knew that that’s what he was going to say. “Alright,” I grab his hand and squeeze it in support. “We’ll figure something out,” I glare at the rest of The Shadows, “won’t we?” 

They all mumble yeahs and okays before I decide that I’ve had enough of this for one day. “How long do we have to figure out a plan?” I ask The Roach. 

“A Greenbriar must assume command within a week, or the board will seize all assets and choose their own candidate.”

“One week,” I say to myself before standing up. “Let’s reconvene tomorrow,” I suggest. “Cardan and I are going back to my dorm to relax.” 

“Can’t we go to my dorm room?” Cardan complains as we begin to leave. 

As we reach the tunnel, The Ghost stops us. “I wouldn’t go back to either of those places,” he suggests. 

“Why?” I inquire. 

“Balekin and Madoc are looking for Cardan, I would guess the dorms would be the first place to search.”

“Okay. Where should we stay?” I ask. 

He and The Roach move a large bookshelf to the side to reveal a door. They open it to reveal a cozy room with a bed, TV, and mini fridge. “Great,” I sigh and walk into the room. “Another thing that you guys neglected to tell me about.” 

“It’s just a safety room in case we couldn’t return to our own for whatever reason,” The Bomb explains.

Cardan and I settle into the room as the rest of The Shadows disperse to other locations. “You good?” I ask Cardan once we’re alone. 

“Yes,” he replies with a sigh. “But there’s no way in hell that I’d ever take control of the company.” 

“I know, we’ll figure it out.” 

We lay on the bed and fall into a sound sleep. 

\-----

I wake before Cardan does. He snores softly at my side as I check my phone. My screen is covered in messages from my family. Ignoring them, I go online to different news articles about the crash. 

They all say the same exact thing: the Greenbriar family died in a car crash during a drive that would lead them to the airport, the cause of the crash is unknown. Cardan rustles next to me. “Any new information about the death of my family?” he mumbles. 

“No,” I reply. “But apparently you’re in Europe somewhere.” 

“Is that right?” 

“Yep,” I smile. “Nobody can get a hold of you, so Balekin said that you’re probably on some kind of bender.” 

He sits up and rubs one of his eyes. “We could go to Europe,” he suggests. “I’m very good friends with our pilot.” 

“Maybe when this is all over,” I sit up next to him and rub his back. 

“What else is my dear brother saying?”

“The funeral is in two days,” I tell him with hesitance. “The signing over of the company is supposed to take place right after.” 

He lets out a sigh. “Two days,” he chuckles quietly to himself. “Well, he certainly isn’t wasting any time, now is he?”

I lay back down and stretch out my arms, it’s noon, but I could go back to sleep. “No, he’s not wasting time. Which means we only have two days to figure out how to stop him.” 

“Let’s not think about that right now,” Cardan lays next to me, and pulls me against his warm chest. Before we know it, we fall back asleep. 

I wake up two hours later, but Cardan is still sound asleep. Careful not to wake him up, I slide out of bed and dress in the same clothes as yesterday. Grabbing my phone, and Cardan’s car keys, I exit our little room and call Madoc. 

The drive to Madoc’s Stronghold seems to take forever with the small vial from The Bomb’s cabinet weighing me down. I grabbed it just before I left as a quick plan formed in my mind.

Madoc’s waiting for me by the front door when I arrive. “Jude,” he calls out to me when I step out of the car alone. “Will Cardan be coming soon?”

“Cardan doesn’t know that I’m here.” 

“Ah,” he nods his head and narrows his eyes as he tries to figure out what I’m doing. “Well, come in anyways.” 

He opens the door for me and ushers me into his office. “So,” I ask him while taking a seat in one of his leather chairs. “What do we need to discuss?” 

“I was hoping that this meeting would be with Cardan,” he responds gruffly and takes a seat across from me.

“Consider me his representative,” I tell him. “I’ll relay anything back to him that you want me to.”

“Tell him that I would like to strike a deal with him,” he begins. “Both of us know that he would do anything to avoid having any control in the family business. I have a way that would benefit both him and me.” 

“Does that way happen to be Oak?” 

Surprise crosses his face for a brief moment before it turns into an expression of pride. “I knew you were clever, but I didn’t think you would figure out Oak’s true origins.” 

“Maybe you shouldn’t underestimate me,” I keep my voice and face calm as he tries to figure out how to proceed next. 

“I assume you know where I’m going with this then.”

I nod my head and reply carefully, “You want Oak to assume the company, so you can take control?”

“That’s correct,” he answers back with a slight nod of his head. “But I plan to return it back to Oak as soon as he’s of age.”

Right, I think to myself, there is no way Madoc will ever let the company slip through his claws. 

“All I need is Cardan to sign his claim over to Oak, so I can take it, and he can rest assured that his family’s legacy is in the right hands.” 

“Where does that leave Balekin, Cardan, and Oak?” I inquire. 

“Balekin will be angry, yes, but I’ll offer him a position that he’ll hopefully be satisfied with. Cardan can live his life however he pleases. Oak will grow up with the comfort of a secured future at the head of his comfort,” he explains with ease. 

I nod my head in understanding, so he believes I’m on the same page as him. “I’ll tell Cardan about your proposal, and we can make the deal after the funeral.”

Madoc grins smugly as we stand and shake hands. “I’ll see you soon daughter,” he tells me as I leave his office. 

I walk to the front door and open and close the door to simulate my leaving. Then, very quietly, I sneak upstairs and into Oriana’s sitting room. She sits on a loveseat reading a book when I slip in. “Oriana,” I say quietly. 

She isn’t startled when I alert her to my attention; in fact, she doesn’t even glance up from her book. “He’s planning on forcing Oak into the Greenbriar family, isn’t he?” she asks with little question in her voice.

“Yes,” I reply evenly. 

“And you want my help in stopping it,” she states with a sigh. 

“Are you offering your help?” 

Oriana closes her book and looks me in the eyes. “I want Oak to be free from any family ties. He needs to live the life he wants.”

“I’ll make sure that happens,” I tell her. 

She nods her head firmly. “Okay, what do you need me to do?” 

I reach into my pocket and pull out a small glass vial. “This is a very strong elixir that my friend brewed herself,” I explain while handing it over to her. “It will make the person sick, and then put them into a deep sleep. I need you to slip this into Madoc’s coffee the morning of the funeral. The coffee should be strong enough to hide the taste.”

She examines the vial closely before slipping it under her sleeve. “Thank you,” I say to her before leaving the room and leaving through the back door. 

Cardan’s awake and angry when I get back to the school. “I thought the point of us being in this tiny room was so to make sure we didn’t go anywhere,” he fumes. 

“On the contrary,” I argue. “It’s to make sure you don’t go anywhere. I can leave and return as I please.”

He sits down on the small bed with a huff. “You could have at least told me you were leaving.” 

“You were sleeping,” I retort. “And I didn’t want you to wake up and cause you to start pouting like you are right now.” 

“I’m not pouting,” he frowns at me. 

“Okay, sure,” I roll my eyes and ruffle a hand through my tangled hair. “I did stop by our rooms to get some essentials.” 

He grabs the duffle bag from my outstretched hand and begins to rifle through it. Finding what he was looking for, he proudly displays a hairbrush for me to see. “Where did you even go?” he asks me while motioning to sit in front of him. 

I sit down where he wanted and he begins to comb through my hair. “I went to see Madoc,” I tell him. 

“What did he want?” 

“He wanted to talk to you,” I reply casually. 

“Oh?” he finishes brushing my hair and begins to work on a french braid. “What did he want to say to me?” 

“Well,” I say with a sigh. “He wants to let you know that he would love it if you signed over your rights to Elfhame Enterprises to Oak; in turn, give it to him. But he promised to give it back to Oak when he’s of age, so it will stay in the hands of a Greenbriar. Of course, this is all for your benefit because you will get to live your life.” 

“With what money?” Cardan huffs. “I doubt Madoc is willing to fund my lavish lifestyle, even if it is technically mine.” 

“That’s exactly why we need to keep it out of Madoc’s hands.” 

He finishes the braid and secures it with a hair tie. “You have a plan, don’t you?” He places a hand under my chin and tilts it up so I’m looking at him. 

“I have the start to one, yes,” I say before explaining my plan to him. 

About an hour later, the rest of The Shadows enter our secret hideout with discouragement. “Well,” The Roach says. “What are we going to do in only two days?” 

We all take our regular seats and turn towards each other. “Jude dear,” Cardan exclaims in a surprisingly uplifting voice. “Has a plan to save us all.” 

“It’s just the makings of a plan,” I explain sheepishly. “I haven’t worked out the wrinkles yet.” 

“Let’s hear it. It’s surely better than anything we’ve got,” The Ghost encourages.

“To begin,” I start. “I met with Madoc today, and he’s planning exactly what we thought he was. He wants Cardan to sign over all of his rights to the company over to Oak, and I alluded to the fact that Cardan would be on board for that. He wants to meet after the funeral.

“After meeting with Madoc, I stopped by and talked to Oriana. I slipped her something that will make sure Madoc does not make it to the funeral, and the meeting after. So, we’ll be able to control what we want to happen with Balekin being the only one in the way.” 

“What do we want to happen?” The Bomb asks when I finish. “We still haven’t found someone trustworthy to take over.” 

“That brings me to the second part of the supposed plan,” I begin again. “Cardan is going to sign the company over to Oak.” 

The Shadows start to let out their protests, but I stop them. “Don’t worry,” I say with a raised hand. “Madoc isn’t going to be the regent for Oak… I am.” 

“But you didn’t want Oak to be forced into this. You didn’t want his future already planned out for him,” The Ghost reminds me. 

“I know, I know,” I glance at Cardan who has his eyes on the ground. I hadn’t told him about this part of the plan yet. “That’s why I’m going to be regent for him, so he isn’t forced into it. If he wants the job later in life, if not that’s okay too. I’m not sure how it’ll work, but I’ll stay on until a Greenbriar- not Balekin- wants it. It just needs to stay in the right hands.”

“Are you sure, Jude?” The Bomb asks hesitantly. “It’s a lot to take on.” 

I nod my head assertively. “I’m sure. Besides,” I change my tone to something more upbeat. “I won’t be alone. I’ll have all of you to help me, and all the board members that have been running the business for years. I’ll just have to sign off on a few contracts now and then.” 

They seem reluctant, but they agree to the plan. Soon after, The Shadows leave Cardan and I once again. When we’re alone, Cardan lets out a sigh and looks at me with guilt. “Don’t you dare try to talk me out of this, Cardan Greenbriar,” I warn. 

“I just don’t think this is the best possible plan,” he tells me. 

“I’ll admit that it’s not ideal, but it’s the only way to make sure Elfhame Enterprises doesn’t fall to corruption,” I take his hands and give them a comforting squeeze. “It won’t be that big of a deal.”

“Jude,” he gives me a pointed look. “We both know that the job isn’t just ‘signing a few contracts now and then’ it’s serious work. This isn’t what you wanted for your life.”

“Cardan…” 

“The only reason you’re doing this is because I don’t want to,” he says with anger rising in his voice. “Let me tell you, it’s not a good enough reason. I’ve been a lost cause for several years.” 

“You’re not a lost cause just because you don’t want to be forced into a life you’ve always hated. Why are you so worried about this? I’ll be fine.” 

He looks me deeply in the eyes, and I can see the anguish in them. “I’m so worried because I don’t want you to ruin your life, Jude, I love you.” 

I don’t respond, I can’t respond. I want to say a million words to him, but my lips stayed glued together. He stares at me with an expression of hope that quickly turns to heartache when I don’t respond. Cardan turns away from me and begins to walk into the bedroom. 

“Cardan!” I call out desperately. 

He turns around and our eyes lock onto each other. “I love you,” I say without any hesitation. “That’s why I’m doing this.”

Instead of seeming relieved and happy, his face turns to stone. “I don’t want you to lie to me to make me feel better,” he tells me with agony and looks away from me. “I don’t want your pity.” 

I walk over to him and grab onto his face, forcing him to look at me once again. “I love you, Cardan Greenbriar. Is it so unbelievable that someone could love you?” 

“I’m not an easy person to love,” he whispers. 

“Do you want to know when I first started loving you?” I ask with a light urgency in my voice. “The day we had to pick a book to read for our project in English.”

His expression shifts to skeptical, so I keep going. “You told me that we should read the Feminine Mystique, and I simply stared at you with disbelief. Then you teased me for my expression, but I didn’t care because I didn’t expect you to offer up a good book. After that incident, you kept surprising me in ways I didn’t think possible.

“I only used to think of you as cruel, but over the last few months, I’ve seen so many different sides of you. You’ve been clever, kind, funny, caring, vulnerable, and so much more. After you found out about my lies, I thought I had lost you for good, but now I know you still love me, there’s no reason to hide from my feelings anymore.”

“I guess there isn’t,” he chuckles and twists a strand of my hair around his finger. “So, you really do love me?” 

“Yes,” I breathe out. “I love you.” 

\-----

“Jude, my love,” Cardan calls out from his closet. “Do you like the red or gold tie?”

“The black one,” I return. 

“Good call.” 

It’s the morning of the funeral and official signing over of Elfhame Enterprises, and Cardan has been avoiding leaving for the last half hour by switching out accessories on his suit. “Cardan,” I warn from his bed. “Stop stalling, we’re going to be late for the service. I let you skip the visitation last night, but you have to be there today.” 

He emerges from his closet looking handsome in a classic black suit. “I’m not stalling. There’s going to be a lot of press, so I have to look my best to dispel any rumors Balekin started about me being an alcoholic and junkie.”

I roll my eyes and grab onto his arm, pulling him to the door. “Okay, but that means no wine at the reception.” 

“Fine,” he grumbles. “I’m going to need a clear head anyways.” 

We arrive at the funeral home with five minutes to spare. I take his arm as Cardan hands off his keys to the valet and begins walking into the overfilled building. He was right, press line the walkway leading to the front door; they call out his name for comment, but he stares straight ahead. 

An usher notices his arrival when we walk into the building. He rushes over to Cardan and I. “Mr. Greenbriar, you and your guest are sitting at the front of the chamber with your brother.”

“Great,” Cardan mumbles under his breath and follows the man towards the front of the room. 

We walk down the center aisle with everybody's eyes on us. I glance around the room and see some familiar faces from school. The Shadows sit together in the back next to Vivienne, Heather, and Taryn. As we get closer to the front of the room, I see Oriana and Oak, but no Madoc. I make eye contact with Oriana and she gives me a slight nod of the head in confirmation causing me to let out a sigh of relief knowing that the first step in today’s plan has been completed. 

Cardan and I take our seats in the front row, next to Balekin. “I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Balekin sneers at Cardan quietly. 

“Here I am,” Cardan replies passively. 

“I really wish you would’ve answered my calls,” Balekin says with disapproval. “This has been such a hard time. We should be with each other, Cardan, we lost our family.”

“You made sure of that, didn’t you?” Cardan says sternly. 

Balekin glares at him with displeasure, but the service begins so he doesn’t get a chance to respond. The service is long and impersonal and someone speaks on behalf of everyone lost. Cardan holds onto my hand the entire time, but he doesn’t shed a single tear. 

Once the service is over, we’re moved to a reception hall. When Cardan and I make it into the room, people are already seated at various tables eating and drinking. Before we can find a place to sit, Cardan is ushered over by a reporter to be interviewed. 

After he finishes with the first interview, he’s passed off to another. Cardan breezes through all of the interviews with ease. Even though I can tell he’s agitated, he puts off a display of poise with complete and utter control over his entire situation while eliminating any concern over his well being. “That was impressive,” I tell him when we manage to get away.

He simply shrugs his shoulders to dismiss any importance or eloquence that he just explained. We’re headed towards the refreshments, when Balekin stops us in our tracks. “It’s time, little brother,” he says in a condescending tone. “We shouldn’t delay this any longer.” 

“Then lead the way,” Cardan responds with a flourish of his hand. 

Balekin eyes me uneasily. “This really just needs to be the two of us.” 

“Jude goes where I go,” Cardan asserts. 

He doesn’t seem happy about it, but Balekin doesn’t protest anymore. Instead, he begins to walk to the back of the room, and Cardan and I follow him. I give a slight nod to The Ghost as I pass him to let him know that our plan is on. He nods his head back to me and makes his way over to Vivienne. 

Most of the eyes in the room follow us across the room, knowing what’s about to happen. The room Balekin led us to is a large office. The Greenbriar family attorney sits behind a broad desk. He pulls out a hefty contract when we enter. 

“The person relinquishing the rights to the company signs here,” the attorney points to a line after shifting through the stack of papers. “And the person taking control will sign here.” 

I wait for someone to say something after that, but nobody does. The attorney sits back in his seat and waits for it all to go down. While Balekin and Cardan stare each other down. “What are you waiting for?” Balekin raises his voice angrily. “You know what to do. I can’t sign it until you give it to me.” 

“I don’t know,” Cardan spits back at him. “Maybe I’m contemplating the rest of my life. This is a pretty big decision.” 

“A big decision?” Balekin lets out a choked laugh. “Please tell me you’re not actually considering becoming head of Elfhame Enterprises.” 

When Cardan doesn’t respond, Balekin laughs again. “Oh my goodness! You are considering it. I knew you were stupid, but I didn’t realize you were this much of an imbecile.” 

“Careful, Balekin,” Cardan warns bitterly. “I’m the only one that can give you what you want. You might want to be nice to me.” 

Balekin considers this for a moment before changing his tone to something that could be considered pleasant. “Alright, what can I do to help urge you along the right path?” 

“Get me a glass of wine,” Cardan replies quickly. “I need to clear my head.” 

Resentment can be seen on his face, but Balekin nods his head and leaves the room to get what Cardan asked. “Nice work,” I tell Cardan as soon as Balekin exits the room.

He nods his head sternly as The Shadows rush into the room followed by Oak holding Vivienne’s hand. “Jude?” she asks. “What’s going on?” 

“We don’t have a lot of time,” I tell her. “I’ll explain it all later.” 

I take Oak’s hand from her and lead him across the room to where the attorney sits. “He is a Greenbriar,” I tell the attorney hastily before lowering myself to be at Oak’s level. “Oak, honey, I need you to sign your name for me on this piece of paper. Like you just practiced with Vivienne and Garrett. Do you think you can do that?” 

Oak nods his head slowly and looks over the edge of the desk at the pen and paper. I put the pen in his hand and point to the line that will give him the company. He holds the pen carefully and moves to sign his name. “Wait!” Cardan calls out right before Oak starts to write. 

I turn to him with confusion. “Don’t sign there, Oak,” Cardan says and points to the line that allows the company to be handed off. “Sign right here.” 

“Cardan?” I question softly. 

Oak looks at me, waiting for approval. “Trust me,” Cardan says. 

“Go ahead, Oak,” I say with regret and apprehension. “Do as he says.” 

Oak rights his name with the last name of Greenbriar. As soon as he finishes, Cardan takes the pen from his hand carefully. He moves to sign his name, and his hand hovers over the paper. “Cardan,” I tell him. “You don’t have to.” 

“Yes, I do,” he says, but he makes no new move to sign. 

“Guys,” The Roach warns from across the room. “Balekin is almost back.” 

Cardan glances towards the open doorway where Balekin’s figure walks quickly in our direction. I grab onto Cardans hand to take his focus away from his brother. “You won’t be alone in this,” I reassure. “No matter what you decide to do. Everyone here has your best interest at heart. We’ll do this together.” 

“Together,” Cardan whispers to himself before writing his perfect signature down on the paper. 

Balekin rushes into the room right as Cardan finishes writing his name. “No, no, no,” he dashes to the desk, drops Cardan’s wine, and holds up the paper in disbelief. “What did you do?” 

He slams the paper back down on the desk and glares at the rest of us in the room. The attorney quickly takes the paper and puts it back in order with the rest of the contract before securing it in his briefcase. He walks out of the room to go announce to the world who will be taking Elfhame Enterprises. Vivienne follows him out with Oak in her arms. 

“How could you do this to me?” Balekin exclaims. “What am I to do now?”

“Don’t worry Balekin,” Cardan smirks. “I’m sure I’ll be able to find you a job.” 

Balekin rushes towards an unflinching Cardan, but I put my arm out to stop him before he can get there. Feeling enraged, I punch him across the face, stomp on his foot, and knee him in the gut. He doubles over in pain and falls to the ground. 

Cardan and I leave him on the floor and exit the room with The Shadows following behind. “That went well,” The Roach retorts after we’re back in the reception hall. 

Cardan is once again bombarded with questions from the press. He answers all of them with a confidence and seriousness I’ve never seen before. 

Eventually, the two of us escape and leave the rest of the work for another day. On the car ride back to campus, we decide that we need a break and a trip to Europe over the holiday sounds like a perfect idea. 

“Why did you decide to become ruler of Elfhame Enterprises?” I ask him when we’re back in his dorm room while packing for the trip.

He lays down on the bed to take a break, and I lay down next to him so we’re facing each other. He smiles at me warmly. “I thought it was pretty obvious. I love you, Jude. I would do anything to keep you happy. You wouldn’t have been happy as a businesswoman for the rest of your life.” 

“But now you won’t be happy.” 

He pulls me against him and kisses me sweetly. “I’ll be happy as long as you’re by my side.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! It feels like it's been forever, but we've made it to the end of this story. Sorry it took so long, I just wanted the ending to be good and not too rushed ig. 
> 
> I think I'm going to write a part 2, but I'm unsure of the plot of it yet. It'll probably be Jude and Cardan going to college and running the company and taking down Balekin. Please comment any ideas that you think would be good for the story. 
> 
> I can't express my gratitude for everyone who has read my story. I never imagined anyone would actually read and like this. 
> 
> I hope you guys liked the ending to this and it was complete/satisfying. 
> 
> Thank you all for everything! Hopefully you'll hear from me soon. 
> 
> Stay safe! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Okayyyyyyy
> 
> This is my first time writing fanfic. Let me know how I’m doing ig.
> 
> I’ll try to update the story as soon as I can. Tell me if you vibe with it or if I need to change/add something.
> 
> Cool


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